The Portland Trail Blazers, fresh off having their nine-game winning streak snapped by the Memphis Grizzlies, hosted the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves and did as was expected, dispatching the heavily-injured visitors 107-93. The Trail Blazers are now 13-4 on the year.
Recap
The first half… it might be better to not talk much about the first half, unless you mean the last five minutes or so, and then we’re probably good. The Trail Blazers really don’t have any business being down to one of the worst teams in the NBA by any number of points, for any amount of time, especially at home. Unfortunately, Damian Lillard was questionable with the stomach flu and, and certainly didn’t look fresh early, going 1-5 and missing both of his threes in the first half for just four points. However, the ever-steady LaMarcus Aldridge shot 8-11 in the half for 16 points, and Allen Crabbe was nice life off the bench, hitting all three of his attempts from deep and contributing nine points of his own. The Trail Blazers fell behind early, trailing by as many as eight before going on a 17-4 run late in the second quarter to lead 48-38 at halftime.
Portland kept things under control in the third, though the paint looked especially vulnerable, as the Timberwolves were able to penetrate again and again off some simple misdirection. The Trail Blazers were fortunate that the Timberwolves blew a few from in close, but were still waiting for Lillard to wake up. Halfway through the quarter he had only taken one shot since the first half. The Wolves decided to go zone, and it served to make the Trail Blazers think a little more than usual, if nothing else. But the talent disparity became apparent as the game went on, and the Trail Blazers ended the third on another run, taking a 75-61 lead into the fourth.
While the Trail Blazers figured they had the game wrapped up, the Wolves kept fighting. A swarming defense pushed them from their favorite spots. After the Timberwolves forced a jump ball, won the tip, and capitalized on the other end, the Trail Blazers’ lead was cut to just nine points halfway through the fourth quarter. The lead was hovering just below double digits, before Lillard, sensing that his team needed him, hit a three and was fouled, setting up a rare four-point play. Even though he didn’t hit the free throw, the lead was pushed to 11 with about four minutes to go, and there wasn’t much doubt thereafter as it didn’t get closer than nine again.
Players
When Wesley Matthews gets hot, he gets REALLY hot, and he was hot tonight. He has dropped in six, then seven, then six three-pointers over the last three games, and tonight got his 700th three as a Trail Blazer. His 23 points and six rebounds were just as big as they appeared on the stat sheet.
There isn’t enough you can say about LaMarcus Aldridge as a steadying force: without him, the team wouldn’t be a shadow of what we see today. He shot 11-17 for 26 points, and with his 15 rebounds moved into a tie with Buck Williams for 4th all-time in Trail Blazers franchise history for total rebounds. Way to go, big fella.
Damian Lillard was flat early on. That he managed 17 points was somewhat unexpected. Many of those points came later when the game may not have been decided. He shot 6-14, which isn’t bad, but more telling was his three missed free throws. After missing just two free throws last game, his percentage went from leading the NBA to fifth. He’ll take another tumble in that category after tonight. Let’s hope it was the illness. To his credit, he had eight assists and three steals.
Nicolas Batum tried his best to fight his way out of the slump he’s been since coming back from a knee injury. He had 10-8-5 with two blocks and a steal, but continued to struggle from deep with just 1-8.
Chris Kaman shot poorly, but had eight and eight off the bench. I like that he’s aggressive… but also dislike some of the shots he takes. Oh well. Sometimes you have to take the bad with the good.
Notes
- Portland’s bench had 27 points, which isn’t too shabby, but Shabazz Muhammad had 28 all by himself for Minnesota. He’s looking a lot better than he did last year, that’s for sure.
- Coach Terry Stotts gets a shoutout for his 100th win with the Trail Blazers!