That was a little too close for comfort.
The Portland Trail Blazers needed overtime to beat the worst team in the league. However, a win is a win as the Trail Blazers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 120-115. The Blazers improve to 44-24 on the season while the Bucks fall to 13-55 on the season. Ouch.
The Bucks showed right away that they had energy. It sort of reminded me of the Seattle Mariners in past seasons. Some of Seattle’s prospects would end up tearing it up ONCE they were out of the playoff picture. Bet you didn’t expect a Mariner reference in a Blazer post did you?
All that to say, the Bucks were playing with reckless abandon as they have nothing to lose at this point and the Trail Blazers looked like a team that had just seen a ghost. Defense was sloppy and the Blazers turned the ball over four times in the first three minutes of the ballgame forcing head coach Terry Stotts to call a timeout to knock his team into shape. The Blazers were able to take care of the ball, but the Bucks were not going away. In the first quarter, they outscored Portland 29-26, but the panic had yet to set in. This has happened before. The Blazers tend to take a bit to get going and they shored some aspects up already. Furthermore, Batum was on fire. He went a blistering 6-for-8 from the field and had 16 points in the first quarter alone. He was the reason why the Blazers were even close.
The second quarter was a different story. Stotts rested the starters and brought in the bench. Good decision as the bench brought energy and toughness that was surprisingly lacking in anyone but Batum in the starters. Every single bench player tonight registered a positive +/-. Thomas Robinson was the first culprit. In his first shift he had 7 points and 5 rebounds and helped Portland gain some of those offensive rebounds. Furthermore, Mo Williams was feeling it. He went 4-for-4 and had 10 points in the quarter. The bench allowed the Blazers to fight back from the Bucks’ initial run and carried a five-point lead into the locker room.
The Bucks outscored the Blazers by two in the third quarter. Milwaukee had the incredible knack of staying in this game. Whenever Portland would try to extend the lead, either Khris Middleton would hit a three or Ramon Sessions would come down and get fouled on a lay-up. Portland had a tough time stringing together defensive stops. Part of that is on the fact that Portland was standing around a lot of the time. There didn’t seem to be any effort to grab rebounds or to prevent lay-ups. However, another part of it was the fact that Milwaukee was shooting over 50% for most of the night. They finished shooting 46% from the field. Still, I think it is a little bit of both. The Blazer starters had energy problems, while the Bucks had confidence from the get go.
The fourth quarter is when it got scary and quite alarming for Blazer fans. Again, the Bucks would not go away. The same problems occurred. Not being able to get defensive stops and the Bucks shooting at a high clip. Luckily, Ramon Sessions split a pair of free-throws that ended up being lethal. Mo Williams fouled Sessions with 0:18 remaining and the Bucks had a one-point lead. The Blazers miss on the other end on a brutal lay-up that just rolled out. Sessions split yet another pair of FTs and gave the Blazers a chance to tie. Damian Lillard got the ball at the top of the key and had a beautiful drive and lay-up that had to be convinced to go in. However, with the way the night had gone, a bad ending could have been lingering. Over the past couple of weeks, Blazer fans have probably gotten used to the fact that 50/50 balls down the stretch have been very unkind. This one, however, went in. It was just a matter of getting a stop, which for tonight, was difficult. A key defensive switch as they put Wesley Matthews on Sessions to force him to take a bad three-pointer. It clanged off the back iron and the game headed in overtime.
Overtime was dominated by Portland. Damian Lillard, who had been extremely cold all night, went 3-for-6 in overtime. After going just 2-for-11 heading into the fourth quarter, Damian Lillard got clutch in the fourth and overtime. He finished going 7-for-21 and had 20 points on the night. With 1:46 remaining, the Blazers had a six-point lead. However, the Bucks would not stop. Khris Middleton kept hitting shots on the offensive end to keep the game possibly within reach. However, Wesley Matthews and Damian Lillard both responded and the Portland finally made their free-throws. It was a win, but probably not one that people will be comfortable with.
These are the Milwaukee Bucks. They have won just 13 games this season. The way the game was going and what the Bucks should have done is what is scary. If Ramon Sessions makes all of his free-throws down the stretch, then I can sit here and say that the Blazers just lost to the worst team in the NBA at the Moda Center. That would have been cause for some alarm. You have to credit the Bucks. They came in knowing full well their circumstances and on the start of a brutal four-game west coast road trip. They literally had nothing to lose.
The Blazers finally win a close game, which has been a struggle in the past few weeks. Maybe it wasn’t against the team that fans would have wanted to beat in overtime, but a win is a win.
The Blazers finished shooting 43% from the field and shooting 31% from downtown making 12-of-39. Like I said above, the FTs were a lot better tonight. They finished going 24-for-27 and the important ones went through. Points in the paint was ugly. The Bucks had 56 points while the Blazers had 46. Some of that can be placed on LaMarcus Aldridge still being out, however, the effort was lacking for most of the game. It wasn’t until the end of the fourth quarter and into overtime that the effort started to appear.
Nicolas Batum helped the Blazers in the first half wake up. He finished with 21 points on 7-for-15 shooting, 3-for-7 from three, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. If there is one thing that having LA out does, it makes Batum do stuff like this. He has been on a tear and it really spreading his wings. In his last 10 games he is averaging 14.9 points 12.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists.
Wesley Matthews was a dog all night. He finished with 26 points on 8-for-15 shooting, 5-for-7 from three. After struggling somewhat against Golden State, Matthews came out and did his part tremendously. He should also get credit for his good defense on Sessions in the final seconds of the fourth quarter that ultimately forced overtime.
Mo Williams was the spark off the bench. Portland expected to have Mo out for two weeks or more, but luckily they had him tonight. He finished with 23 points on 7-for-12 shooting, 3-for-5 from three and 3 assists. Mo was effective all night on the offensive end and continues to show that if he is making shots, this team does not lose very often.
A win is a win, now it is time to move on to a team that has given the Blazers trouble. The Washington Wizards come into town after losing an overtime thriller in Sacramento. They will look to bounce back on Thursday in the Moda Center at 7:00 p.m. PST. The Blazers lost in Washington earlier this season so this will not be any easier. LA is questionable to play, but if he can’t go, the Blazers will have to find some magic as the Wizards will make you pay a lot more than the Bucks will. Stay tuned!