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Blazers move to 2-0 in Summer League after beating Hawks, 85-68

By Nate Mann

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 08: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks drives against Wade Baldwin IV #2 of the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2018 NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 8, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 08: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks drives against Wade Baldwin IV #2 of the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2018 NBA Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 8, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images) /
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Moving to 2-0 in Summer League play, the Blazers coasted by the Hawks. Jake Layman led the offense, while Wade Baldwin led the defense and shut Trae Young down.

The Portland Trail Blazers won their second game of the Las Vegas Summer League. Once again, the team played well together, recording 20 assists and 85 total points.

Jake Layman and Anfernee Simons led the way in scoring. They combined for 35 of the team’s points.

Defensively, Baldwin shut Trae Young down to hinder Atlanta’s offense. Young scored 0 points in 9 minutes and sat the second half out with a quad contusion.

Behind another strong performance on both ends of the ball, the Blazers won, 85-68.

Game Story

First Half

After playing like a seasoned NBA team in their last outing, the Blazers’ Summer League squad came out unfocused against the Hawks. Atlanta opened up with six straight points off Portland fouls and turnovers.

Wade Baldwin continued his dominance by leading a 16-3 Blazers run. He recorded 5 assists in the first 5 minutes of the game.

At the end of the first quarter, Portland led 27-17. John Jenkins scored the most with 7 points and Anfernee Simons had 6 (off two three-pointers).

The Hawks started the second quarter off strong, closing the deficit to 6. Portland’s reserve unit couldn’t put the ball in the hoop, especially Georgios Papagiannis. As a result, a few of the starters and rookies were subbed back in – they quickly built the lead back up to double digits.

The Blazers kept maintained the gap through the end of the second quarter. Jake Layman provided the offense, scoring 12 points in 12 minutes, and Zach Collins provided the defense with 4 blocks in 14 minutes.

Second Half

Caleb Swanigan kicked off Portland’s second half by assisting a Collins bully bucket in the paint. Zach backed John Collins down into the restricted area and finished despite the contact. Layman and Jenkins then increased the lead with back-to-back three-pointers.

Layman also scored from inside the arc, finishing an alley-oop from a Baldwin lob.

During this third quarter offensive run, Zach Collins went to the locker room with a leg injury. He caught some elbows down low, was tripped a few times and had his legs undercut after a great pump fake.

With 10 minutes to go, the Blazers led the Hawks, 63-52.

The fourth quarter started as most Summer League games play – neither team could control the ball or hit a shot. Through the first two minutes, only four combined points were scored.

Portland continued to defend well, though, and held on to the double-digit lead. To stop the offensive dry spell, Layman and Baldwin took over. Layman hit threes and finished transition buckets and Baldwin had his way in the paint with numerous floaters.

The lead built up to 20 points, and the starters were subbed out. At the final buzzer, the Blazers won, 85-68.

Player of the Game

Jake Layman displayed his experience and an NBA level of play this game. He led the team in scoring with 23 points on 9/14 shooting and 4 three-pointers.

In 23 minutes of play, Layman had a plus/minus of +16, fourth best on the team.

He scored from all over the court – 4 three-pointers, a couple of alley oops from Baldwin, and a newly-added pull-up jumper.

This efficient 23-point outing was a nice comeback from his 5/12 shooting in Portland’s first summer league game.

Play of the Game

Here are two of Layman’s 23 points against the Hawks. It was his second alley-oop from Wade Baldwin and showed off the athleticism we saw on a nasty putback dunk on Saturday.

5 Stats from the Game

  • Wade Baldwin recorded 10 assists and only 1 turnover.
  • The Blazers turned the ball over 17 times. In Saturday’s game, they only turned it over 10 times.
  • Zach Collins recorded 5 blocks in 20 minutes of play.
  • The Blazers shot 11/20 from beyond the arc, 4 of which were from Jake Layman.
  • Anfernee Simons led the team with 3 steals in 19 minutes. He also finished tied for second in scoring with 12 points.

Next: Why it was so important to re-sign Jusuf Nurkic

The Blazers move to 2-0 in Summer League play. They close out the preliminary round on Tuesday (July 10) against the San Antonio Spurs at 1 p.m.