The Portland Trail Blazers didn’t play their style of ball, but still found a way to churn out the 88-82 win against the Indiana Pacers. The Trail Blazers shot under 40% from the field, and just 4-21 from deep. It’s good that they can win in different ways, that they’re not just a “score a bunch of points but no defense” team. Portland is now 15-4 on the year.
Recap
The Trail Blazers started this game looking relaxed, confident, and pretty much the opposite of how they looked against Denver. Nicolas Batum hit his first shot, LaMarcus Aldridge hit his obligatory (for this season, anyway) three, and the Trail Blazers had a 7-2 lead early. But with neither team in a hurry out of the gate, the Pacers must have thought, “yeah, we could probably win,” as they watched the Trail Blazers miss open shot after open shot. The Pacers made a push to knot it at 10 with 3 minutes to go.
With the Trail Blazers shooting under 25%, they still managed a 16-14 lead into to end the first quarter. Aldridge had seven and seven already, but as a team Portland was just 14% from deep.
The second quarter began with the Trail Blazers breaking the logjam on offense, taking a 6-point lead early in the period. As the rust shook off, they started chugging. Some buckets for Damian Lillard. Some buckets for Chris Kaman. Heck, even a nice dunk for Allen Crabbe, and the field goal percentage was creeping up… 28%… 31%… 37%… while still 2-9 from deep. The Trail Blazers were up 32-24 halfway through the quarter and the starters weren’t even all in. It was starting to look like it was going to be a one-sided fight… then (if you blinked you missed it) the Pacers got it to within one point just minutes later. The back-and forth would be a theme.
With the Pacers playing good, tough defense, the Trail Blazers started getting chippy too. Seeing Aldridge throw his weight around a little was a welcome sight, and, though it cost him an offensive foul, he gave David West a ringing that forced the Pacers to call a 20-second timeout. As the half wound down, Robin Lopez finally hit a bucket after missing his first four, and the Blazers took a 38-33 lead into halftime. Fortunately, there was plenty of room for improvement. The 1-10 three-point shooting would have to come up. Even though Portland set a season record for fewest points in a half, they also set it for fewest points allowed in a half. Bad and good.
Dec 4, 2014; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Robin Lopez (42) has some words with Indiana Pacers forward David West (21) after he was fouled during the third quarter of the game at the Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. The Blazers won the game 88-82. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
The Trail Blazers pushed the lead to nine, but the Pacers struck back and got it within one. With the crowd apathetic, West and Lopez got tangled up. It appeared that West shoved Lopez and Lopez angrily strode in to defend himself. He had to be gently persuaded to the side by teammates, an official, and coaches. That spurred some nice Trail Blazers sequences, including a Lillard three, and as Batum jammed it on the break to make it 51-44, the energy was back for both the team and the crowd, forcing a Pacers timeout. It’s energy-shifting sequences like those that can make or break close games.
That led to another such sequence where Lillard stole it and finished on the break with pressure, giving the Trail Blazers their biggest lead of the game at 10 points. Not wanting to disappoint, the Pacers went on yet another run, and the lead was trimmed to three. Aldridge hit from deep out of the timeout for his second of the Trail Blazers’ three threes going into the fourth quarter.
The Trail Blazers took a 62-59 lead (yuck!), but the crowd really just wanted to see a few shots go in before the night was done.
Some… interesting… basketball ensued in which Crabbe and Joel Freeland built a modest 70-66 Blazers lead, forcing the Pacers timeout with eight minutes to go in the game. A wacky sequence allowed Batum to get a three off the jump ball and sink the fourth (and what would be the final) Trail Blazers three of the night.
A Lillard jumper pushed the lead back to nine. The “long arms of Crabby,” as Trail Blazers commentator Mike Rice put it, pinched Crabbe a steal that led to Lillard free throws. A sweet Aldridge spin and a Lillard free throw off of a Roy Hibbert technical had the Trail Blazers up eight with about 3:30 left, and up seven with 2:30 left. The victory was near.
Matthews floated a teardrop over Hibbert, but the Pacers hit back with five quick points. A lone Lopez free throw made it 83-78 with 1:03 left, Pacers ball, and Rodney Stuckey hit a tough floater of his own. Fortunately for Portland, Aldridge was fouled shortly thereafter and canned both free throws to restore the five-point lead. Lillard then split a pair to push it to six, Pacers ball, 23 seconds left. Indiana took a less-than-ideal three, the Trail Blazers rebounded, and that was pretty much it. Final score: Trail Blazers 88, Pacers 82.
Players
LaMarcus Aldridge looked like he had trouble handling the ball all game, and not handling the ball as in only dribbling, but literally just holding on the ball. It was slipping away again and again, so much that both Mikes Barrett and Rice commented about it more than once. Despite this, he had a strong first quarter, and finished with the game with 18 and 13 with two blocks, though he needed 21 shots to get there. The biggest positive for Aldridge is that he wasn’t shying away from the chippy Indiana defense. He was leaning into it. Oh, and he hit both the threes he took, which has been another nice development.
Damian Lillard had a decent game, but struggled from three as all Trail Blazers did not named LaMarcus Aldridge. He also “struggled” from the line, going 8-11, his 90%+ free throw shooting a thing of the past. He just hasn’t been comfortable from the stripe lately. His last attempt came following an apparent hand injury, so we will have to wait to see if he is alright. That aside, his energy was steady if not overwhelming, and he went 23-8-3 with two steals, everything well-earned.
Nicolas Batum did a nice Scottie Pippen Light impression, adding 11-5-5 with three steals and two blocks. He had the usual “Oh, Nico!” turnovers, but at least it’s because he’s trying to make something happen. He got the post-game interview tonight, and rightfully so.
Wesley Matthews had another sub-par game with 12 points, no rebounds, no assists. He was 0-5 from three, and you might say this was one of his worst games of the season, but not for lack of trying. He might have let the the Pacers’ chippy demeanor wear him down more than it should have.
Robin Lopez was getting into it with both Hibbert and West, which you like to see and which will make for a more interesting game come December 13 when the Trail Blazers play in Indiana. Lopez finished with just four points and seven rebounds.
Joel Freeland had one of his better games, always willing to mix it up (which was disproportionately helpful against a team like the Pacers) and always fighting for position, for rebounds, for stops, whatever. He had four points and five rebounds with an assist in just 12 minutes. Good work.
Allen Crabbe‘s defense is going to be tasty. Nice gamble for the Trail Blazers’ staff to be playing him, I think. He’s kind of rangy, and he plays like he wants to be there. And he’s young. Six points with two steals and a block.
Notes
- The 16-14 first quarter was record-breaking: it tied a season low first quarter for Indiana, was a season-low for the Blazers, and was a season low for opponents for both teams.
- The first half was also a season low both for Blazers points in a half, and for points allowed in a half. Bad and good.
- Most people probably found this game offensive and boring. I actually liked it. It was slow because the teams were both a little ticked off. Sure, the Trail Blazers probably coulda/woulda/shoulda won by more, and on another night they might have. But on this night, we got a grind-it-out, slow, kind of ugly but sort of beautiful in its struggle kind of game, and, conveniently, the Trail Blazers were leading for almost all of it, so it was tolerable.
The Trail Blazers travel to the Big Apple to face the New York Knicks this Sunday, Dec. 7 at 4:30 p.m. PST.