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Trail Blazers pull away from Kings in late-game ‘Lillard Time’

By David MacKay

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Final. 99. 84. 110. 34

Tic-tac-toe, the Portland Trail Blazers won their third game in a row for the first time since January by defeating the Sacramento Kings. Although the Trail Blazers led almost the whole way, the Kings brought it all the way back to a one-point game in the fourth quarter, before Damian Lillard took control. Portland’s lead stretched to 11 again by the final horn, and the Trail Blazers won 110-99.

Recap

The Trail Blazers started hot with the help of LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored 10 of his 26 points in the first quarter. Head Coach Terry Stotts’ game plan was to exploit the absence of Kings center DeMarcus Cousins. Portland went inside early and often, putting together a 13-0 run before Sacramento started doubling Aldridge on the catch. The Kings’ growing frustration was apparent, as Head Coach George Karl picked up a technical arguing an Andre Miller offensive foul. The Trail Blazers ended the quarter with a 34-23 lead.

The Kings made a strong push in the second quarter, pulling within three points before the Trail Blazers stepped on the gas. Robin Lopez made a strong push of his own on Kings forward Reggie Evans, and was issued a conservative flagrant 1 for his lapse in judgment. The game was physical the whole way through, but this was the pinnacle of aggression. The Trail Blazers bumped and bruised their way to a 64-50 lead at the half.

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The third quarter was admittedly rough. The Trail Blazers do not have anyone that matches up especially well with Rudy Gay, who continued to use his combination of size, strength, and quickness to overpower Portland’s guards. The Kings gained a little ground back, thanks to some turnover problems on the Trail Blazers’ end, but still faced a 10-point deficit by quarter’s end.

Then came the Kings’ last big push. Gay pulled the Kings within one point with a huge three just before the eight minute mark. However; Lillard answered with a three of his own that would prove to be the first drizzling of a scoring deluge. He scored nine of his 31 points in the final eight minutes, helping the Trail Blazers to a comfortable lead and another big win.

Players

Damian Lillard broke 30 points for the first time in almost two months. He shot 11-20, 3-5 from deep, and dished out seven assists. The absence of Darren Collison (hip) opened the door for Lillard to come up big and he stepped right through.

LaMarcus Aldridge had difficulty finding open looks, but that didn’t stop him from shooting. He tallied 26 points with 15 rebounds for an impressive double-double. He forced the issue in the paint more aggressively than usual, getting to the line for nine free throws and flummoxing Kings forward Jason Thompson, who eventually fouled out of the game.

Robin Lopez took advantage of the Cousins’ absence, scoring 15 points and collecting eight rebounds (four on the offensive end). He was probably fortunate that the officials did not issue him a flagrant 2 on that Evans push, since he caught him in the air and had no intention of making a play on the ball. Still, this was Lopez’s best offensive performance since November.

Wesley Matthews scored his usual 17 points, but it only took him eight shots to get there. This was especially impressive considering that his shooting hand was heavily wrapped from a hard fall he took on Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Chris Kaman played just 18 minutes, but made the most ridiculous shot of the game. He spun baseline for a no-look left handed reverse that stunned everyone.

Neither Nicolas Batum nor Arron Afflalo scored well, but both were called upon to contain Gay at times. This was a brutal task that was often futile, but never unnecessary. Their contributions were not accurately reflected in the box score.

Notes

  • The Trail Blazers bench scored a combined 19 points, paling in comparison to that of the Kings, which scored 44, but the Trail Blazers starters outmatched the Kings’ by leaps and bounds.
  • Normally a team that has 19 assists and 17 turnovers will not defeat a team that has 24 assists and 12 turnovers. The Trail Blazers were fortunate to hold on for the win.
  • They did, however, win the rebounding battle 43-33, which was good to see.
  • Joel Freeland returned to action after missing 23 games with a shoulder injury.
  • Alonzo Gee scored his first points as a Trail Blazer, playing a brief stretch in the second quarter. He is technically shooting 100 percent from the deep and 50 percent from the line in red and black. That’s a fun little fact you won’t see every day.

The Trail Blazers return home for a few days rest before traveling to Los Angeles to face the Clippers on Wednesday.

Next: Mailbag: McGee a mid-season target for Portland?