The Portland Trail Blazers won a thriller in Oklahoma City tonight, beating the Thunder 115-104 after a blizzard of three-last tries saved them from disaster. You can get an overview of the action in our immediate summary. Damian Lillard scored 31, in the first quarter and the desperate last minutes of the game. Here is the observation and seven more, just as it was in our analysis of victory.
Superstar Chameleon
Just when you think you know who Damian Lillard is, he turns into something else. We’re all familiar with Lillard’s MO and skill, right? Shoot tries, count 30, arrive big late in games. What did Dame do tonight then? He came out hard in the first period and drove the track, scoring 12 at 6-11 and not making one try. Lillard also defended hard and delivered the sharp point of offense that kept Oklahoma City on just 21 points.
THEN Lillard made four three-pointers in the final four minutes and helped two others change a game, which the Blazers lost a decisive victory at that point.
Lady can really do anything. This is special. Look at every moment you can.
Tiny Ball
Enes Kanter now stands like a tree among daffodils in Portland. As long as he’s in the game, the Blazers can cover their injury due to their lack of length. As soon as he goes out, the Blazers get small. Forget the heinous switches that Anfernee Simons leaves as the central edge protector. This still happens when the defense goes wrong. But it’s not much better if the defense is going right. If Harry Giles, III and Jusuf Nurkic do not return soon, it will probably get ugly. Teams can measure a game plan for Portland’s lack of height.
OKC only did that in the second half. They finish with 48 points in the paint. If they could hit tries, it would have undone the Blazers.
Simons says Gimme the Ball
Anfernee Simons hit tries tonight and shot 5-8 from distance for 15 points. but he did just as well in the first half as we saw him. With Lillard’s four fouls in the first two periods, Simons’ play was a sell-out.
The Blazers seem to be simplifying the game by design or luck when Simons is in. When he handles the ball, he has some clear options. He looked really great towards OKC. He did not get direct help, but he started plays and controlled the ball and tempo, instead of just shooting his (admittedly excellent) try.
Bank blows up
The Blazers played just over three minutes tonight. Carmelo Anthony scored 10 and shot just 4-14. He is in the “down” cycle of his up-and-down year. Yet we are not past the time when a bad match from a Portland banker meant 0 points, not double digits.
Meanwhile, Simons shoots 5-9 off the floor for 15 points while Nassir hits Little every shot he took – three tries included –for 13 points on 5-5 shooting.
Portland’s reserves play like the green light never goes out. Honestly, it looks good to them. “Carefree” is perhaps one word for it. Refreshingly productive are two more.
All the tries, all the time
For better or worse, the Blazers went all in on the three-pointer tonight. 47 of their 96 attempts come from distance, almost 1 out of 2 shots. They linked at 20, for a total of 42.6%.
The plan worked well in the first half when Portland was hot. It seemed awful most of the second when fatigue and a little defense started to catch up with them. But everything is going well, it ends well. Six made three appearances in the final four minutes and reached the match out of reach.
Tired of transition
The Blazers played (essentially) eight players tonight in a quick game on the road. And THEN Lillard got in trouble. Their energy decreased as the game progressed. Oklahoma City tackled extra rebounds and came out at halftime. Portland did well during this injury period, but it may be time to start hoping the All-Star Break comes soon.
Rip and Stripping
It did not necessarily show up in the field count – Portland received only six stolen awards – but it became clear that reach and undress were an increasing part of Portland’s defense repertoire. All the little ones try to hide the ball. Since the Blazers currently have no one but little ones, that means very active arms.
This is not bad. Forced turnover is one advantage, but many Portland players honestly have trouble moving their feet and standing on “D”. This is another option to get involved with them some way at that end. Violations will increase, but they at least keep an eye on the ball and do not watch it pass.
On the rebound
Despite the smaller series, Portland dominated the attacking glass tonight, darkening Oklahoma City 15 O-rebounds to 7. Enes Kanter had a whopping 7, but five of the top six Portland players grabbed 2 or more. It has become the offense that is the throwaway for the defense.
Excitement reigns
The finish of this game was as exciting as one could imagine. Portland blew a big lead, went upside down on the scoreboard and then rained in multiple tries to secure the win. There was a fair amount of excitement after … not the square of the goal post, but slapping and nodding. It is good. The point of view in the last minutes of the game was straightforward professionalism. The Blazers seemed to know they could win it, and followed. Do not watch now, but they play like a team that knows what he is doing. The confidence level is starting to rise. This is a good sign for the season.
Goal scorer
The Blazers get no rest. They tackle the New Orleans Pelicans tomorrow night at 5 p.m.