First Indiana, now why not add Oklahoma City to the list of defeated teams? This week was seen as the biggest test for the Trail Blazers. With games against very high-caliber teams, this was going to show whether this team was for real or not. Well, with wins against both OKC and Indiana, I guess they passed with flying colors. The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-104 in yet another playoff-atmosphere kind of game. The Blazers key was balanced scoring, but most of all was LaMarcus Aldridge. He continues to impress and solidify his standing as being the best power forward in the game right now. I’ll get to stats later, but LA was putting on a clinic tonight. Hitting shot after shot and seemingly having an answer for every Thunder attack. He was playing so well that the crowd even started chanting M-V-P when he was at the line late in the fourth. What a game!
Tonight was special in that it had a lot of national writers in the building. They wanted to see what all the hype was about. Well, they picked a great game to come watch. These last two games have definitely been thrillers. They have come down to the wire and have always featured some late-game Blazer heroics or just insane shooting by the opposition. Remember, we are getting each team’s best shot now as the Blazers sit atop the West with a 16-3 record. Each game will be a battle, but it looks as if the Blazers are prepared for that.
The Blazers were outscored in the first and second quarter and were down by 11 at the end of the first half. It was a very similar feeling to last night’s game in that the Blazers hung around. They never let this game get too out of hand. The Thunder’s biggest lead was 12 in the second quarter, but the Blazers were able to close the gap pretty quickly. This was a weird game from a hustle standpoint. In the first half, the Blazers were getting outworked plain and simple. The Blazers had a couple defensive stops that ended with a pretty routine rebound where the Thunder were already down the court, but because our team crashes the board so hard it sometimes affects the way we get rebounds and as such created some pretty sub-optimal turnovers. There was also some bad in that the ball would bounce off of someone’s foot and land right in the lap of a Thunder player. Things like that seemed to occur quite a bit that made it frustrating to watch in the first half. The Thunder were equally having as many plays, but just seemed to be converting more in their second chance opportunities.
Like all of the Blazer games though, the story seems to unfold in the second half as head coach Terry Stotts has made really effective half-time adjustments. You just come to expect them now. Just like that, the Blazers outscored the Thunder 35-21 in the third quarter to take a three point lead by the end of it. This was all credit to the bench and in particular Dorell Wright. Dorell Wright’s defensive play was crucial as he was getting in passing lanes and affecting shots and doing it all. Thomas Robinson had a nice tip-in at the basket as he was in a sea of blue Thunder jerseys that signaled that this game was not over in the slightest. The bench has played pretty phenomenally these last two games. They have really come into their own and are starting to feel like a team themselves. T-Rob continues to develop and show the vast potential he has. Dorell Wright, while not shooting as many threes as he is used to, is contributing by doing everything and, like I said above, playing good defense on his man. Mo Williams seems to be night and day in terms of his offense from game to game, but you still have to guard and respect his game such that it leaves other players open for wide-open shots and we saw that a little bit tonight. Joel Freeland played against the player that he wants to model his game after tonight and that is Nick Collison. Freeland had a solid game and most of it didn’t show up in the stat sheet and was able to get Collison and the rookie Steven Adams in foul trouble, just another great performance from the bench tonight.
The game came down to the wire like everyone expected it to with each team’s superstar trading buckets. It came down to just a few crucial stops and one very clutch three from Batum to seal the deal for the most part. It is amazing to compare this team’s defense to Indiana. The Blazers shot only 13 threes in the Indiana game, but was able to shoot 23 threes tonight. The Blazers were able to find the open three; they just weren’t able to knock them down consistently tonight. Just goes to show you how this team can win in a variety of ways and doesn’t necessarily need the three to succeed. Overall, just a great game tonight that showed the media, yet again, that this team is for real. Let’s get to some stats.
The obvious MVP tonight was LaMarcus Aldridge who was a bull tonight throughout the game and was playing out of his mind. However, honorable mentions go to Robin Lopez, Dorell Wright, and Nicolas Batum.
LaMarcus Aldridge ended the night with 38 points on 17-for-28 shooting and 13 rebounds. Check out the efficiency! Carmelo Anthony can shoot that, but it requires 35-40 shots instead and more damaging to the team. LA could not miss tonight. From the start of the game, it was clear that the Blazers were going to try and use him tonight to draw Ibaka and Perkins out of the paint. Anytime there is a known shot blocker on the other team, it changes the flow and the type of shots people will take in the game. It was smart to try and force the double-team early so that Batum, Matthews, or Lillard would have an easier time getting to the basket. Aldridge just kept swishing shots and kept the Blazers within reach throughout the game. Whenever we needed a bucket, it seemed like LA would have an answer and he would always put another move on someone to make them think. He was putting on a show and making Ibaka and Perkins look slow. These past three games for LA have been staggering. His shooting stroke has returned and it finally looks as if he now truly believes that his team can win any game. One underrated part of his game is his passing. He had a couple nice no-look passes to a cutting Robin Lopez or a wide-open Mo at the perimeter that seemed to come out of nowhere. I am glad the Blazers were able to pull this one out as LA was just feeling it tonight on all fronts.
Robin Lopez ended the night with 12 points on 6-for-11 shooting and 10 rebounds (6 offensive). The Blazers are going to Lopez early in games to set the tone. This is what I wanted from a true center. You see teams with centers like Pekovic or Howard where the first few possessions are just one-pass lay-ups that start the game in a hurry. Now if only Lopez could get some more arc in that shot because, man, his shot looks slightly ugly. You have to give credit to Robin’s defense as well. I have noticed that he gets better as the game goes on. In the second half, he tends to dial in on what he needs to do and starts securing more rebounds and fighting for offensive ones. I have to say he had another tough match-up tonight going against Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins who are very physical players. I would also add Durant in there as well as his rebounding numbers has been surprising. Durant is averaging 8.3 rebounds a game this season so he has been crashing the boards and cleaning them up quite effectively.
Dorell Wright was, in my opinion, the catalyst of the comeback. His defense and energy was enough to disrupt the flow and momentum for the Thunder. He did have 7 points on the night and had 3 rebounds to his name, but it was the other things. He spread the defense, fought for loose balls, and was able to help the bench hold the lead while the starters got their much-needed rest. In a game where the Thunder could have easily taken over like they have so many times against the Blazers, Dorell Wright and the squad off the bench really were critical. Dorell, I think, played his best game as a Blazer tonight. Again, not in his stats, but just the impact he made was huge tonight.
Nicolas Batum is probably done guarding MVP caliber players for now. Going up against Kevin Durant right after Paul George is quite a task, but he probably made the most crucial shot of the night. He ended the night with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting, 2-for-5 from three, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block all while guarding Durant. Not a bad night. His best moment came at the end when the Blazers needed a bucket as they were up by just 1 with 0:37 left in the fourth. Batum hit a wide-open three that blew the roof off of the Moda Center. I think teams forget about Batum as tonight he had two “sneaky” three-pointers. Batum gets an easier assignment on Friday as he guards Gordon Hayward, but I would think he just needs to get some good sleep. Just a great game for Batum, and a very timely three that was the push the Blazers needed to end the game.
Well, this has been a heck of a season so far. Beating teams left and right and now finally hold the best record in the Western Conference as the Spurs’ game got postponed due to a fire at the arena in Mexico City (can you believe that?). Feels good, but I know teams are really going to be gunning for us and that is why the Blazers really need to be prepared for the Jazz coming in on Friday. This has the makings of a trap game and you want to take care of business. You have beaten the cream of the crop, now it is time to just deal with cellar dwellers. The Blazers take on the Utah Jazz on Friday, December 6th, at 7:00 PM PST. Hopefully this will be a very eventless game and just a standard W. Stay tuned!