After some scuffles and some flashy moments, the Blazers ground out a 99-94 win over the Magic, their second in a row.
Reminder: We’re just five days removed from a disastrous Blazers home loss against the Brooklyn Nets.
Remember the questioning of coach Terry Stotts for sitting Jusuf Nurkic for most of the fourth quarter? The frustration about Portland trying to match the Nets’ small lineup instead of embracing their bigs?
That seems like years ago.
The Blazers have been winners of two in a row since then, one against a division rival, the other against a rising Eastern Conference team. The Blazers won those two games by a combined 22 points.
Tonight’s win wasn’t as pretty as Monday’s, though. There were 28 combined turnovers, some sloppy half court offensive sequences, and a scrum.
Game flow
Similar to two nights ago against Denver, the Blazers got off to a terribly slow start. They found themselves trailing 13-3 a little over three minutes into the game. The Blazers gave up 33 points total in the first quarter, consequently into the second trailing by nine.
Fortunately for Blazers fans, Portland buckled down on defense from the second quarter and beyond. And while they held Orlando to just 14 points in the second, the Blazers still only had a four-point halftime lead.
From there, it was a lot of back and forth. A bucket by Evan Fournier here, an answer by CJ McCollum or Damian Lillard there.
And while Portland blew a 10-point lead in the third quarter, they ended the game on a 18-12 run, more than enough to secure the 99-94 victory.
Star players
Damian Lillard led the Blazers with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists. He was just three dimes shy of his first career triple-double.
CJ McCollum added 24 points and four (yes, FOUR) blown kisses while shooting 57% from beyond the arc.
As icing on the cake, Portlands “Big 3” was rounded out not by Nurkic, but by the team’s backup point guard. In 27 minutes, Shabazz Napier scored a career high-tying 19 points and was 5-5 from deep. That incredible shooting night filled a much needed service gap for the Blazers, and was critical for the Blazers to nab the win.
For the Magic, it was Fournier keeping them in the game. Orlando had six players in double figured, with 22 from Fournier leading the way. Center Nikola Vucevic had a double-double of his own, with 11 points and 10 boards. Jonathan Simmons had 16-3-3 off the bench as well.
Three takeaways
CJ is a bad boy. The most legitimate knocks on McCollum for this season have been his late-game struggles. From turnovers to missed shots to blown free throws, McCollum has not looked like himself during the final five or so minutes of most games in 2017.
Fortunately, tonight was a different story. McCollum hit a dagger three to cap off his 24-point game and the Blazers win. Despite three turnovers, he had three blocks and carried a +/- of +11.
Beyond the stats, McCollum’s interaction with Fournier before halftime is worth mentioning. The two players got in each other’s faces after a shove from Fournier. From that point on, McCollum went toe-to-toe with the Magic guard, and CJ came out on top.
Shabazz Napier flourished with increased minutes. After playing 15 minutes against Denver, Napier saw his minutes increase even more tonight. Head coach Terry Stotts has a lot of confidence in the former Husky, giving Portland a better second unit.
He was perfect from deep, and shot 58% overall in the game. His 19 points are also a season high, which could change soon if he keeps this up. Napier is stepping up at a great time, and could develop into a piece Portland has been missing to reach the next level.
Some adjustments is all this team needs. In a game in which both teams shot better than 43%, somehow neither cracked the century mark. While due in part to a lack of offensive flow for both teams, it also came down to both teams playing defense. Of the 65 rebounds between Portland and Orlando, only 17 came from the offensive glass.
It was a second quarter adjustment that brought Portland back into the game.
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Improved rotations, and more communication during pick and rolls, made Blazers look an awful lot like a great half-court defensive team. And giving Napier more minutes, especially after a slow first quarter, gave Portland some offensive fire they were missing.
Will these changes stick and help the Blazers continue to win? Only time will tell.
Next Game
The Blazers take their show on the road to face the Sacramento Kings on Fri. Nov. 17 at 7pm Pacific.