Portland Trail Blazers finish road trip four and zero

The Portland Trail Blazers went into Wednesday’s game with a 3 game winning streak, looking for not only their fourth win in a row, but also a win to close their road trip 4-0.

The Pistons were tied for the second-worst record before the game, 13-33. They had defeated Toronto three times this season, including a 43 point game from Norman Powell on March 17.

Portland Trail Blazers finish road trip 4-0

Portland continued with their 3 guard lineup of Lillard, McCollum and Powell. Detroit features 5 rookies, including small forward Saddiq Bey, who picked up 2 quick fouls with less than 2:00 after tipoff.

It was back-and-forth action in the opening quarter, including back-to-back 3’s from both teams. Lillard hit each of them for Portland. The Pistons led 33-31 to end the first. Former Blazer Harvey Grant‘s son Jerami recorded 3 blocks in less than 4 minutes of play.

Detroit clearly showed they weren’t going to lie down and play dead, exchanging buckets with Portland. The lead belonged to the Blazers most of the second quarter, until Grant hit a 3 giving the Pistons their first lead since the start of the quarter. They took a 52-51 advantage into the break. Grant led all scorers with 17, Covington 11 for the Blazers.

The second half was all Portland, beginning with a 3 point shot by Lillard and a potential 4 point play, but he’d miss the free throw. The Blazers would not look back, getting the 124-101 win. Lillard with another double-double, 33 points, 10 assists. McCollum, 24 points. Grant, 30 points, 3 blocks for the Pistons.

“Just the fact we are growing, We aren’t playing crazy offensive games. We just playing complete games, we’re playing together, the ball is moving as the game goes on. We improve defensively, most importantly, we finding ways to get wins, that’s the thing I’m most proud of.”

Damian Lillard told Brooke Olzendam during his walk-off interview, on what he likes most about the way they’re playing.

A couple of key facts… this is the first time the Blazers finish 4-0 on a road trip since November, 2013… Before this game, McCollum had 6 blocks in the last 3 games and finished with 2 Wednesday.

The Blazers look to continue their hot streak and make it 5-0, Friday as they host the Milwaukee Bucks at The Moda Center.