Blazers outlast Suns 114-107
The Trail Blazers shouldn’t have expected an easy win.
The Phoenix Suns came into Portland riding a two-game winning streak. This followed the firing of their coach, Earl Watson, after the Suns lost by 48 to the Trail Blazers on opening night and started the season 0-3.
The Suns certainly looked fresh out of the gate, building a modest single-digit lead as both Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkić struggled.
Pat Connaughton hit a buzzer-beating three in the corner to end the first, and the Blazers took a small 29-24 lead of their own going into the second.
Connaughton opened the following quarter by getting WAY Up for an oop from CJ McCollum. The Blazers’ lead ebbed and flowed, but Portland mostly treaded water as Dame and Nurk stayed ice cold.
In better Blazers news, Al-Farouq Aminu was lava hot, blocking shots, poking away steals, and shooting his way to a 10-point half. The Blazers took a 61-57 lead into halftime, leaving the Moda Center crowd feeling like the lead could have (and should have) been much larger.
2nd Half
Nurk came alive to start the third quarter, setting brick wall screens and flipping in shots. It’s worth noting how much he appreciates being hit on the roll after a pick, something that’s happened less this season than it did last year.
Both teams kept a torrid pace as the quarter progressed, trading buckets like it was going out of style. Fortunately, this made for an exciting, up-and-down affair!… unfortunately, the Blazers couldn’t pull ahead, and they took a 92-89 lead going into the fourth.
An anxious crowd tried to pump itself into believing a big Blazers run was just around the corner. Halfway through the fourth, it wasn’t happening. The game was more or less knotted up as the clock kept ticking.
As Blazers fans sweated it out, there was a critical play late, courtesy of two Blazers stars who had been struggling for much of the game. Nurkić set a hard screen for Dame at the top of the key, which opened up just enough space for Lillard to hit a floater, putting the Blazers up 110-106 with 29 seconds left.
And that about did it. The Blazers walked away winners, 114-107.
Three Takeaways
Zach Collins needs to soften his stone hands. Twice in the 2nd quarter, he bobbled and turned over passes that, while not perfect, went RIGHT to him. Yes, he’s young. Yes, he has years to develop. But you expect a bare minimum of competence to stay on the court for a playoff team. Catching easy passes isn’t too much to ask.
Al-Farouq Aminu has had a great season. Yes, his shot still looks like a catapult, but his shot has been falling. After an off-year last season, Aminu is now shooting about 50% from the field and north of 50% from deep. Beyond that, he was active on defense, and even dumped off some nifty passes. If THIS is the Aminu the Blazers will get for the rest of the year, look out.
Pat Connaughton continues to impress. And it’s not just his shooting, though that’s what getting him playing time. His defense, while not spectacular, has been adequate. On this Blazers team, that’s about all you need to stay on the floor.
Mostly, it’s been great to see a player go from “left for dead” after a dreadful Summer League performance, to getting meaningful rotation minutes for the first time in his career. You go, Pat.
Next Game
The Blazers host the Toronto Raptors on Monday. Oct. 30 at 7pm Pacific.