Portland Trail Blazers win in OT against the Chicago Bulls
For the fifth straight game, the Blazers were without Damian Lillard.
And for the second game in a row, Portland faced a lottery-bound opponent in the 13-23 Chicago Bulls.
First Quarter
The Blazers jumped out to an early 10-4 lead as Evan Turner got hungry and feasted on a subpar Bulls defense, shooting 5/7 in the first.
A Pat Connaughton triple made it 23-13 on a rare Blazers fast break, the Chicago crowd being lulled into a stupor.
The Blazers finished the quarter up 31-23 while only shooting 1/5 from deep. Connaughton chipped in eight points and Al-Farouq Aminu seven points to compliment Turner’s 10.
Second Quarter
Some patience from Shabazz Napier on passes to Ed Davis and Connaughton for an easy buckets helped keep the Bulls at bay as they made a run to start the second.
Unfortunately for Portland, a 15-6 Chicago run pulled them to within one at 37-36 with 8:15 left in the first half. The Bulls took a lead shortly thereafter.
During the run, there was some commotion in the stands that caught the attention of Dame’s mom:
It was unclear what took place. What WAS clear: CJ McCollum was struggling, and the Blazers began falling behind. McCollum was 0/7 with zero points in his first 13 minutes before finally scoring over former Blazer Robin Lopez late in the second.
As the Bulls led by as many as six, the Blazers were probably lucky to be trailing only 53-52 at the half.
Third Quarter
The Bulls proved that they weren’t going away. Pushing their lead out slightly, Lopez was thoroughly outplaying Jusuf Nurkic on both ends.
Portland stayed close by pushing in transition, encouraged by Stotts barking for fast breaks from the sideline.
And the aforementioned Nurkic did have a few nice passes for assists, decisive and quick but smart, safe, and within the flow of the offense.
Seeing “Patty Longstep” (as Blazers TV commentator Lamar Hurd called him) pump fake a three, then take the drive for the and-one was wonderful. He pulled the Blazers to within three with his 14th point.
And speaking of 14 points, that’s how many CJ had in the quarter, correcting his poor first half with a vengeance.
Despite a Napier three as the clock wound down, the dust settled on a 87-83 deficit heading into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
Leading by six, the Bulls were feeling confident with ten minutes left in the game. And who could blame them? Despite the occasional run, Portland never had control after the games opening minutes.
Back-to-back Aminu threes pulled the Blazers to within two. Ed Davis did his part with two blocks on the same defensive possession, some Napier free throws tied it up, and a Nurk follow gave the Blazers a 95-93 Blazers lead with 7:30 left.
It didn’t last. The Bulls kept pushing to go up 106-100 and Portland getting frustrated by a middle-of-the-pack defense with 3:44 left.
A few Aminu threes pulled the Blazers to within two with 90 seconds to go, but Portland needed stops, and in succession. They got that, and the Blazers tied it at 112 with the ball and the last shot. It didn’t fall for CJ, and the game headed to overtime.
Overtime
Evan Turner continued his torrid shooting with a VERY rare triple to start overtime. The Bulls responded with a two, and Aminu responded with a three of his own!… but then the Bulls answered back and tied it at 118 with 2:30 to go.
With the game nip-and-tuck, McCollum got blocked on a three, then got it back and broke down the defense with a crazy contorted stepback to put the Blazers up 122-120 with 0:43 left.
Portland got a stop, failed to score, but got another stop and CJ outran Lopez to run the clock down to just three seconds. CJ hit both to ice the game, and the Blazers escaped winners, 124-120.
Three Takeaways
Evan Turner had a great first half
Going 7/9 for 14 points on a night where CJ went 13 minutes without a single point was huge for the Blazers. He generally made quick decisions, taking advantage of matchups and of the in-between spaces that modern NBA defenses leave unprotected. Basketball is about adjustment. And getting REALLY REALLY good at operating in the spaces left for please with such a strong focus on rim protections and running guys off the three-point line does add value.
CJ can’t disappear like he did early
He finished the first half 2/10 with five points, and the Bulls were almost starting to leave him open he was missing so much. That mucks with the Blazers’ spacing, and badly. If CJ isn’t drawing attention, shooters like Aminu and Connaughton find their jobs a lot harder. And, of course, CJ’s importance is amplified when Lillard isn’s suiting up. With all that being said, he needs to be steady, even when the rest of the team isn’t. And while he redeemed himself in the second half, that won’t fly against teams that have better than .360 win percentages.
Next: New Year’s resolutions for the Portland Trail Blazers
Pat Connaughton is nice
Threes? Check. Team defense? Check. Handles to navigate traffic and pull up or get to the rim? Check. Pat’s 16 points made for his third-best scoring outing of the year, and he looked good doing it. He has multiple weapons on offense, made more obvious by his improved ball handling,.
Next Game
The Blazers play again tomorrow, this time against the Cavaliers in Cleveland (in time for Isaiah Thomas‘ first game of the season) at 4:00 p.m. PT.