Trail Blazers defeat Pacers 100-86, win fifth straight at home

Starters for the NBA All-Star Game were revealed today, and announcements for the reserves are looming. In Portland, the NBA world was treated to one of the most competitive games of the season, featuring two of those All-Star-hopefuls.

Finally building momentum during a wild season, the Portland Trail Blazers came into Thursday’s game against the Indiana Pacers looking to extend their home win streak to five.

Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard and Pacers shooting guard Victor Oladipo came into the game looking to bolster their All-Star resumes with final votes coming soon.

All three goals were accomplished, as the Trail Blazers defeated the Pacers in Portland, 100-86. Both Lillard and Oladipo looked strong, and led their respective teams in scoring. The game was very competitive, especially through the first three quarters

Momentum

Lillard took off during the final quarter, helping the Trail Blazers balloon their lead before a victory.

The Trail Blazers are now 24-21 on the season, currently sixth in the Western Conference. They’re just one game behind fifth-seeded, and Northwest Division rival, Oklahoma City.

The Pacers (24-21) are sixth in the Eastern Conference.

Portland’s next game is Saturday at home against Dallas. It’s another 7:00 p.m. tip-off.

First Quarter

Both teams got off to hot starts, especially Portland. Al-Farouq Aminu scored 9 of Portland’s first 20 points. He was 3-of-4 from the floor and 1-for-2 from three.

Also starting off well was Jusuf Nurkic, who had eight points on 4-of-4 shooting along with four rebounds as the Blazers led early, 22-16.

All-Star hopeful Lillard struggled early, starting out 0-for-3 (all from behind the arc). He finished the quarter with two points, two rebounds and four assists on 1-of-5 shooting.

However, Indiana was more than able to keep up. But Portland led 29-28 at the end of the first quarter, thanks to a CJ McCollum three-point buzzer beater. Indiana shot 54 percent in the quarter; Portland shot 48 percent.

For the Pacers, Darren Collison, Thaddeus Young, and Oladipo combined for 22 points, five rebounds, and two assists in the first quarter while being 10-15 from the floor.

Second Quarter

The second was just as back-and-forth as the first.

Oladipo was the first player in double figures, reaching it at about the six-minute mark. He finished the half with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Collison had nine points and two assists.

Nurkic continued to shine for Portland, as he reached 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting with just over three minutes left in the half. Ed Davis provided great support off the bench, and had six points and two boards on 3-of-4 shooting in just nine minutes.

Unfortunately, the Trail Blazers were just 3-of-14 from three-point land in the first half, with two of those makes coming via McCollum. Luckily, Portland out-rebounded (29-18) and out-assisted (11-8) Indiana in the first half, while going 9-of-9 from the free throw line.

The Trail Blazers led 52-46 at halftime. Nurkic finished the half with a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double.

Third Quarter

The competitive nature continued into the second half. The game was knotted at 59 with six minutes left in the third. Aminu (12 points on 4-of-8 shooting) and McCollum (10 points on 4-of-11 shooting) joined Nurkic in double figures around this time.

Lillard began to pick up the pace, scoring five points in the quarter, including a flashy finish.

Of course, the game was tied at 74 after three.

Indiana was shooting 45 percent at that point (six percentage points better than Portland).

Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis came to life in the third as well. His nine points and eight rebounds kept the Pacers on pace with the Trail Blazers. Collison was leading the team in scoring with 20 points on 8-of-11 from the field (4-for-5 from deep).

Fourth Quarter

The Trail Blazers jumped out to an 8-0 run to begin the final period. In fact, Portland was on a 14-0 stretching back to the tail end of the third quarter.

Suddenly, Lillard was leading Portland in scoring along with Nurkic with 16. A dunk by Lillard gave Portland a 13-point lead, and they never looked back.

Portland got help off the bench from Shabazz Napier (13 points, four rebounds and two assists in the game) and Davis (eight points and eight rebounds).

The Trail Blazers’ “Big 3” of Nurkic, McCollum and Lillard combined for 61 points (26 from Lillard), 25 rebounds (17 from Nurkic), and 10 assists (eight from Lillard).

For Indiana, Collison and Oladipo finished with 23 points apiece. Thaddeus Young pulled in a team-leading 14 rebounds.

Three takeaways

The “Bosnian Beast” completes this team.

Yes, Lillard is the MVP of this team. Yes, McCollum is his secondhand man, creating an amazing bakcourt. However, this team is still not anything but average without an anchor down low.

That was the missing piece for a long time, prompting the team to trade for Nurkic 11 months ago. After a great finish to last year, his start in 2017-2018 has been shaky at best.

But, when he performs at a high level, as he did tonight, the Trail Blazers play their best basketball.

His 19-point, 17-rebound performance in 32 minutes tonight showed Rip City the real “Bosnian Beast.” He controlled the boards and got his own on offense.

Nurkic got the ball rolling for the Blazers, and it really showed on the court.

Oladipo and Sabonis were great returns for Paul George.

Many people, myself included, thought the Oklahoma City Thunder virtually stole All-Pro Paul George from Indiana. As the weeks go on, however, the Pacers may have ended up winning that trade.

Oladipo is most likely going to be an All-Star. He was nearly named a starter for this year’s game. George will most likely not be an All-Star, and his team is struggling much more than the Pacers.

Sabonis has been one of the best 23-and-under power forwards this season. He’s developed very well under head coach Nate McMillan, and seems to have been the key for Indiana in negotiations for George.

Both Oladipo and Sabonis have a great chance to make multiple All-Star appearances. And they could help the Pacers in the playoffs for years to come.

Damian Lillard is an All-Star.

Lillard is a Top 20 talent whether or not he’s voted in by the coaches. And even if many NBA fans don’t believe in him. It was on full display Saturday, even though he may have struggled early.

Scoring 26 points and eight rebounds was just another night for Lillard. In fact, had he shot better and not missed a couple of easy layups, he could have easily scored 35 points.

Next: Should the Blazers go off the map and pursue Marvin Williams?

So now Lillard’s invitation to the 2018 All-Star Game is in the hands of the coaches. His 25 points and 6.5 assists per game should get him in over the likes of Klay Thompson, Chris Paul, and Jimmy Butler.

Lillard, like all of Rip City, is tired of being snubbed.

Hopefully that’s not the case on Tuesday.