The Portland Trail Blazers nearly claimed a win over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night. Carmelo Anthony came off the bench big while Damian Lillard displayed his usual fourth quarter. Unfortunately, Jayson Tatum and the Celtics could have done better and won 116-115.
Dave Deckard has the Instant Recap with your quarter-by-quarter game flow here. Here are some other things you missed during the nail-biting thriller.
The Lady and Melo Show
As the final score indicates, the 116-115 victory of the Celtics was a knock-and-stab affair. Each of the Blazers’ key players chose a bustle and key recordings that should have garnered praise in the movie room. But make no mistake about it: much of Portland’s offensive success comes through the wrists of Damian Lillard and Carmelo Anthony.
Throughout the night, Boston worked out the often-attempted strategy of “ice” Damian Lillard – or preventing him from getting back in the middle and into that attraction – and Marcus Smart, in particular, did an amazing job. But in the fourth quarter, Lillard, as he usually does, fought through pain to get into a rhythm and scare Boston. On an evening in which CJ McCollum fights his lap, Anthony steps in as a capable buddy.
Together, the two combined 53 points on 19-of-38 shots, including 21 of the Blazers’ 28 fourth-quarter points. Especially for Anthony, it has become a trend. This begs an interesting question.
Did anyone else notice how different he was playing in the first place with the lights on bright versus what he does in ‘regular’ games? It’s completely arbitrary, but it’s enough to make one think about writing a petition. Look:
Anthony in TNT or ESPN primetime games: 16.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 47.1 FG%, 37.5% 3P
Anthony in other, normal games: 13.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 40.7 FG%, 37.7% 3P
More off-ball opportunities for Lillard
Let’s throw in another Lillard takeaway to look at in the long run: one of the hidden traits Norman Powell adds is that it gives the Blazers a tertiary ball handler to play with Dame and McCollum. This gives him the chance to play more off the ball, cut and create faster looks for himself.
In tonight’s game, Lillard created a handful of points, just the threat that he would cut – or by finding a slot in the defense and getting effective buckets. It feels like a fantastic development worth rooting for, and not just because it promotes better ball movement. If Lillard is as injured as he sometimes seems, the isolation and pick-and-roll work will not be as fruitful as it often was. He doesn’t seem to have had that much speed over the past few weeks, so the Blazers need to be creative about his workload going forward. In the first half, we saw back screens that looked a bit like, among other things, a Spain pick-and-roll and a cut on a fake post-up seal.
This leads to a minor remark: it looks like the Blazers are possibly trying to find ways to manage Lillard’s load. His rest in the second quarter was much longer than usual; he is going to turn in with just over four minutes to go in half. Keep an eye on it going forward.
More rotation confusion in the late game
The Blazers’ recent moves have given them the luxury of allowing multiple players to join a game, whether offensively or defensively. Unfortunately, as tonight’s game showed, the Blazers are still struggling for a good faith fourth quarter lineup that puts teams away.
Tonight comes the conspicuous omission in the form of Robert Covington, whose defense under the perimeter was one of the few positive things in the night. As fate would have it, he was nowhere to be found on the floor during critical moments in the fourth. Consider this something else to look forward to. Whoever puts this team on the floor to complete games could be a make-or-break factor in the future.
Lose against winners
Here are some life-changing changes since the last time the Blazers defeated a team that entered the game with a winning record: all four No. 1 seeds remained in the NCAA March Madness Tournament, and Starbucks introduced three new espresso / latte combinations. and the Brooklyn Nets employed only * five former All-Stars. It was way too long.
Box count
The Blazers get a two-day break before preparing for a Friday night game against the San Antonio Spurs at 5:30 p.m.