I think it is safe to say that the Portland Trail Blazers are on a roll once again. After beating the Memphis Grizzlies at the Moda Center, most people would probably think that the matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers in LA would be a trap game. All of that talk was crushed as the Portland took care of business and beat the Lakers 124-112 and are now on a comfortable four-game winning streak going into the final six games of the season. Portland improves to 49-27 on the year. Fun fact: Portland now has as many wins as they did losses last season. The Lakers fall to 25-49 and are trying to be spoilers for a lot of lower Western Conference teams. The Lakers may have a part to play in the final seedings.
The game itself only showed the determination and the mindset of this team going forward. We have heard and talked for the past week about the switch being flipped and Portland starting to turn it up. Portland has turned it up. Defensively, Portland is locking in and getting stops when it matters. Offensively, the big shots that are reminiscent of their early season success have returned. Portland is also playing a free and easy style once again. The ball movement was evident in this game as Portland whipped the ball around on fast breaks and cross court passes as well as finding the open man on the perimeter. One play that comes to mind was a sequence where Wesley Matthews was at the top of the key and had a wide-open three-point shot, however, Matthews passed it to Lopez who was right underneath the basket for a lay-up. This kind of play was nowhere to be seen during Portland’s stumble. This is just one of many reasons why Portland is starting to feel like an offensive machine once again.
This game had some extra pressure as the Golden State Warriors had beaten Dallas in overtime. Furthermore, Houston had lost to Brooklyn and the Blazers were in a prime spot to take advantage of gaining ground on the Rockets. Whatever you want to say about the Lakers, they can beat you. Their record is not a representation of what they can do on a given night. They will score in bunches and they have a bunch of players who have nothing to lose. This was the type of game that I think last year’s Portland team would not have won. It would have been one of those games where the “what ifs” would have started to be asked. It would have been one of those disappointing efforts that would have involved ridiculous trade theories and screaming from the fans. However, this is a very different Blazer team and, honestly, they made it look easy during this matchup.
In the first quarter, Portland outscored the Lakers by two. Portland had an eight point lead midway through the quarter, but when Steve Nash entered the game for LA, the whole game changed. A good quote I heard is that 50% of Steve Nash is still better than most of the point guards in this league. Playing with a messed up back and countless aching problems, Nash did what he does best and that is making everybody better. Not only that, but other members of the Lakers’ bench stepped up. Nick Young had an absolutely blistering night and it all started by making his first three-pointer in the first quarter. Young made his first eight shots and ended with 40 points on 15-for-26 shooting, 6-for-13 from three.
Despite all of that, Portland kept the offense coming. Batum went 3-for-6 in the first quarter and Will Barton went 2-for-4 to keep the points flowing.
This should tell you something as well, the entire starting lineup for LA registered a negative +/-, but the entire bench unit ended with all positives.
The second quarter was a back and forth fest. However, the Lakers jumped out quick. Steve Nash and Nick Young led the way and the Blazers were behind by seven. Not exactly what you want to see from Portland. The Blazers closed within one thanks to a surge of Blazer points. What was the key? Lay-ups and the foul line. Portland had started taking a lot of perimeter shots that were not going in and the ball movement was stagnant. A lay-up by Lopez, two made free throws by Lillard, a lay-up by Batum and a standard Aldridge jumper helped the Blazers get back into the game in just a little over a minute.
However, Nick Young kept shooting (shocker) and kept hitting. Portland, yet again, had a seven-point deficit they had to cut. In a similar fashion, Portland struck back thanks to LaMarcus Aldridge, Mo Williams and Damian Lillard. Portland was only down by one with 4:30 remaining in the first half. After a made jumper by Jodie Meeks, the Lakers failed to score from the field for two minutes. In that time, the Blazers had taken a one-point lead and were looking to add. Chris Kaman kept the Lakers afloat by nailing a couple of jumpers. After all of that and Nick Young going 7-for-8 in the second quarter, the game was tied.
The third quarter was when this game started getting away from LA. Portland outscored LA 28-22.The big adjustment was putting Batum on Nick Young as he only went 2-for-6 in the quarter. You could tell immediately that the Lakers had no offense from anyone else. Not only that, but whenever Steve Nash had to leave the game the Lakers would crumble on the offensive end. From 8:38 to 6:48, the Blazers were extremely hot offensively. Batum and Damian both made three-pointers while Aldridge made a dunk, a layup and two foul shots. If you cannot tell already, Lillard and Aldridge came to play and both were stellar. LA, again, did not score a bucket for two minutes at the end of the quarter and were now down by eight.
In the fourth quarter, the Blazers sealed it. They outscored LA by four, but with Aldridge and Lillard on fire, the dagger eventually occurred with 2:59 remaining on a Lillard three-pointer. The most amusing and face-palming moment, however, was Meyers Leonard getting ejected in garbage time.With just 0:36 remaining in the game, Leonard tried to foul Kendall Marshall as he was leading the fast break. Unfortunately, he ended up grabbing part of Marshall’s neck and shoving him out of bounds. The players themselves ironed it out, but the referees called a flagrant 2 and Leonard was promptly ejected. Only Meyers Leonard could figure out a way to get ejected in garbage time.
With all that being said about Leonard, fans shouldn’t be angry or heckle him. He has huge potential, but a couple of these plays can certainly change your opinion on the guy. Obviously, he wasn’t trying to hurt the Marshall, but on the other hand Leonard needs to be aware of where his body is.
Portland finished going 46-for-99 and shooting 47% from the field. They went a blistering 13-for-29 from downtown and shot 45%. The FT line was phenomenal. Portland finished shooting 91% and going 19-for-21. Portland grabbed 50 rebounds and also had 32 assists. Portland made this Laker team run as they scored 14 fast break points.
The Lakers, on the other hand, did not actually play a bad game offensively as they shot 45% from the field and 44% from beyond the arc.
Individually, Portland’s two all-stars dominated all game. LaMarcus Aldridge, putting away any worry that his injury has affected him, finished with 31 points on 12-for-20 shooting, 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks. Aldridge was dominant and had an answer for every run that LA attempted. LA got in the block with ease and his turnaround jumper was dialed in from the start.
Lillard, on the other hand, probably had the most impressive play of the night. With 2:45 remaining in the second quarter, Lillard found his way into the paint and dunked in traffic between Pau Gasol and Chris Kaman. Looking back, that was the momentum-shifting moment if there was one. That was just one play, but Lillard was dominant all night. He finished with 34 points on 10-for-22 shooting, 5-for-10 from three, 8 assists, 3 steals and just two turnovers (Stephen Curry line?).
Portland took care of business and now only have one more road game in their final six games before the regular season comes to a close. The next matchup, on Friday, against the Phoenix Suns will have some importance. The Suns gave the Blazers fits during their early season run and I am sure fans are not happy to be seeing them one last time. This will be an interesting measuring stick for Portland as it has been some time since these two teams have met. Either way every game from here on out is extremely important, especially these games against lower Western Conference opponents. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. Stay tuned!