So, your NBA team, which has been caught in mediocrity so far, has just achieved an exciting – you hope the season-turning – victory over a conference rival, the San Antonio Spurs. How do you follow this up? If you said, “Jump on the next opponent, beat them early and leave no doubt that you’re going to start a substantial winning streak,” you might be a contender. If your answer was, ‘Play a lazy, stuffed, barf-inducing swell feast of a game, and give victory in the most demoralizing way possible,’ you might be the Portland Trail Blazers.
Portland not only falls tonight at the Charlotte Hornets, but cannon in a sea of sucks. All-NBA guard Damian Lillard missed his second straight in a row due to a hamstring issue, but the Hornets also missed key players: Gordon Hayward, LaMelo Ball, Devonte Graham, Malik Monk … four of their top five players were in streetwear. .
And yet they somehow destroyed the Blazers, going up by 20 in the first period and crossing against a team whose only apparent talent was in pulling dirty shots and then missing them. Charlotte finishes with the 109-101 victory. Terry Rozier scored 34 with 10 strokes, while CJ McCollum gave 22 for the Blazers. Carmelo Anthony added 24 off the bench in a big but futile attempt at a return from the fourth quarter.
Anthony overtook Tim Hardaway and Eddie Jones for 34 on the three-point list, scoring 6 of 12.
Derrick Jones, Jr., did not play with a DNP CD in this game
First term
The Hornets were not only a headache for the Blazers in the first quarter, it was a full-blown migraine. Portland’s inside defense played hooked. Everyone in Charlotte’s uniform, except Terry Rozier, took turns running an essay exercise. Rozier did not participate because he was too busy hitting jumpers, including a few tries. He also gathered half a dozen assistants. It was one of the worst defensive efforts we’ve seen in a season full of it. CJ McCollum hit a few shots, but that was all the Blazers could pick up. When Rozier left his third try with 2:34 left in the period, the Hornets were 20. And then he hit ANOTHER one, making it 4-4 in the quarter. Rozier ended the period with 17 points and 6 assists on 7-8 shots. Charlotte led 44-24 after one.
Second term
The second quarter was not quite as miserable for Portland as the first quarter. That meant they didn’t fall back by 40. But they also did not make much progress. Charlotte missed openings, but withheld many of them. With the big gap gap, the refs were charitable for the Blazers, giving them the lead in free throws. Unfortunately, the Blazers wasted it by shooting 50% off the dirty line. McCollum and Norman Powell went on mini-fans, but it was not close enough. Charlotte led 65-51.
Third term
The Blazers made a short turn early in the third inning and reduced the lead to a dozen, but they could score nowhere but the fault line, and there barely. After playing 9 minutes in the third, the Blazers struck out four shots. At the same time, the Hornets hit six try, plus various other shots. The Portland defense was not only absent but also reversed. Before you could say, “Stop hurting us!” Portland was down 25 again. Charlotte led 93-72 after three.
Fourth term
Carmelo Anthony caused the obligatory return of the fourth quarter, hitting a triple try in the first six minutes of the frame. That took Charlotte’s lead to a dozen. He scored 11 Portland points straight, but the debt was too great to repay. When ‘Melo started shooting and missing shots (and he took some ugly ones), the game was somewhat mercifully over.
Stay tuned for Kyle Garcia’s analysis of the game!
Goal scorer
The Blazers return home to face the Los Angeles Clippers in the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.