The Portland Trail Blazers, already missing one starter for the season in Wesley Matthews and missing two more temporarily in LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum, and missing their leading bench player in Chris Kaman, nonetheless came out swinging. Despite winning both the first and second quarters, the Trail Blazers eventually succumbed to the Golden State Warriors’ superior talent, 122-108.
Recap
The Trail Blazers started Damian Lillard, Arron Afflalo, Alonzo Gee, Dorell Wright, and Robin Lopez. There is absolutely nothing about that lineup which strikes fear in the heart of an opponent.
However; it must have completely baffled the Warriors… and who can blame them? Portland trotted out a lineup never before seen, and the home team took advantage. The Trail Blazers took a 26-20 lead with a few minutes to go in the first with a hectic offense full of lane penetration and threes, and played pesky and inspired defense. They didn’t really look like they knew what they were doing on either end… but neither did the Warriors.
The lead was as large as eight before the Trail Blazers hit a dry spell, but still skipped into the second quarter with a 30-26 lead off some late Lillard free throws.
The Trail Blazers weathered the inevitable Warriors run in the second. With the game tied, C.J. McCollum nailed a three to restore the lead, then a slithery lay in pushed it back out to three after a Warriors bucket. Then the Trail Blazers blasted a run that got the lead to 12, and the crowd was going nuts. Another Warriors run trimmed the halftime lead to five, but it could have been more as Lillard was hacked, and the no-call led to a Stephen Curry fast break dunk.
The Trail Blazers started the third with the same energy they’d had all game, a promising sign indeed… but then suddenly and alarmingly, the wheels fell off the bus, the bus fell off the bridge, and the bridge was swallowed by an earthquake. The undermanned Trail Blazers shot under 30% for the quarter as the Warriors must have realized who they were and who their opponent was trying to be. Portland was outscored by double, and the 5-point lead was a 13-point deficit heading into the fourth.
The Trail Blazers and Warriors traded threes to kick off the final quarter, and the Trail Blazers even cut the double-digit lead to nine as McCollum got a career-high with 23 points. But the Blazers just didn’t have the juice to hang, and the Warriors capped their win with a showboating alley-oop up double-digits with 30 seconds left. The final score: Warriors 122, Blazers 108.
Players
First off, kudos to every Blazer that came out playing like their life depended on it. It didn’t last, but that first half was some seriously fun, if confusing and disjointed basketball.
Damian Lillard was 6-11 from deep and had 29 points, seven boards, and five dimes with a steal and a block. He wasn’t perfect, but it was a far sight better than many of the games we’ve seen from him of late. He was hacked quite a few times, and near the end was getting frustrated that his aggressiveness was rewarded with just five free throws– four of which came in the opening period.
C.J. McCollum and his aforementioned career-high 23 points were impressive. He can shoot threes. He can hit floaters. He can make space for himself. He can squirm into the lane. The three steals were also pretty nifty, and McCollum looked as good today as he ever has, save for a few questionable plays. If the Trail Blazers could get a proportionate amount of production out of him in 2/3 the minutes, they would be very happy indeed.
Alonzo Gee, Dorell Wright, Arron Afflalo, and Steve Blake all scored around 10 points on about 50% shooting, When the team needed contributions, there they all were. Besides scoring, Wright’s five boards and Blake’s five dimes should be acknowledged.
Notes
The Blazers looked better in game, working with one another and making things happen against the best team in the league than they did looking at their box scores. If you have a chance, and you want to see a really bizarre and fun game, this one (at least the first half) is worth a look.