The Portland Trail Blazers started turning in the right direction with a victory against the Cavaliers. However, a person could argue that the Dallas Mavericks are a better team right now. They may not have a star-studded line-up, but they do have a heck of a coach, play great team basketball very similar to Portland’s and they have been known to give the Blazers grief over the years.
Portland passed the test. The Trail Blazers beat the Dallas Mavericks soundly on Thursday night 108-87.
For Portland, Dallas games over the past couple of seasons have been nail-biters and drama-filled. They usually go down to the wire and depend on one or two shots towards the end. They have been overtime games as well. Dallas has also been known to be the victim of several Portland comebacks, which make the games even more exciting.
Last night was a little bit different. In the first half, it had all the makings for a down-to-the-wire kind of game. Dallas outscored Portland 24-20 in the first quarter and 26-26 in the second taking a four-point lead into halftime. Both teams came out of the box shooting ridiculous percentages, which seems to be the pattern for Blazer games thus far. Portland and Dallas shot 53% and 52% respectively. Dallas went up early in the first 11-6, but went through a cold spell that allowed Portland to get back into it. By the time the scoring resumed, Portland was getting into their rhythm offensively and stayed with Dallas for most of the first half. LaMarcus Aldridge went 5-for-7 in the first quarter and was feeling it throughout the game.
Monta Ellis had his best quarter for Dallas as he went 4-for-6, but he mainly battled foul trouble all night. He was able to get into the lane and either shoot a mid-range or get close enough for a lay-up. Ellis excels when you leave the lane open for him. The other thing that was interesting was that Dallas did leave the lane open for Portland. Multiple possessions saw Damian Lillard or Wesley Matthews able to turn the corner and get close to the basket, but Tyson Chandler, returning for his second stint with the Mavericks, is a big body and cleaned up any leaks in the defense. Furthermore, Portland was getting open looks from the three-point line, but they were not knocking them down. Dallas was not play suffocating defense, Portland just had to calm down a little bit and get into a rhythm.
The second quarter was a perfect example of the defensive improvement of this Portland team. Dallas only shot 30% from the field in the quarter. Portland, on the other hand, shot 42% and 38% from three. Fans could start to see the shift happening as Dallas had to fight even harder to keep their position, while Portland seemed be tightening up on defense and affecting shots. Some Blazer fans may not be used to watching such a defensive effort. Fans are used to the high-octane offenses with the lackluster and generally forgetful defense. The Blazers are trying to prove that they have the ability to play defense and I think they are. Ellis and Jameer Nelson combined for five points on 2-for-7 shooting in the quarter. Dirk Nowitzki was the only person who had it going in the quarter has he provided 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting, 1-for-4 from three. Portland got a mix of scoring. C.J. McCollum provided two three pointers in the quarters and Steve Blake and Chris Kaman provided seven points combined.
How would Portland respond? These would usually be the moments where Portland would either come out flat or the other team would get red-hot. This would also be the time where I would probably criticize them for letting a team walk over them or where the aggressiveness was out of the half. Not tonight. The Blazers got even tougher on defense and were mighty impressive on that end, while shooting the lights out to put this team away in a flash. They limited Dallas to just 6-for-20 shooting (30%) and 1-for-8 from three (13%). Chandler Parsons was the only Maverick having a decent quarter as he had nine points on 4-for-6 shooting. Ellis could not get into a rhythm. Having being called for three fouls in the first half, Ellis was whistled for a fourth eight seconds into the third quarter. Not a good night.
Portland, on the other hand, did not care. The Blazers’ offense came alive as they went 13-for-20 from the field (65%) and 5-for-10 from three (50%). Wesley Matthews did not miss a bucket in the quarter providing 10 points on 2-for-2 shooting both of them three-pointers. Portland put the foot on the throat early and outscored the Mavericks 35-18. Already, a person could argue that the Mavericks should wave the white flag. The fourth quarter was mostly garbage time as the Blazers continued to be aggressive and did force Dallas to bring in the bench and concede the game with 7:22 remaining. They outscored Dallas 27-19 and it was mostly with the bench unit. Damian Lillard was the only player from the starting lineup that played in the quarter and he only played about six minutes.
As you can see, Portland came out of the half determined and showed it immediately. How many times have fans seen the opposing team take a timeout as momentum is shifting and then Portland just gives it right back? Tonight was a flip of the script. Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle took a timeout in the third quarter as the Blazers were coming on strong. After the timeout, Portland kept scoring and in quick fashion. This is so unlike Portland teams of the past. This shows growth and this shows maturity.
This game also started a trend that could be permanent or at least not a fluke. Portland, in their last two games, has held high-scoring offenses to just 82 and 87 in the Cleveland and Dallas games respectively. Those are two very good offensive coaches with good offensive players. I think there is something to this. While those teams may have been shooting poorly or having an off-night, Portland’s defense has cranked up and people can see that in missed buckets and not giving up on a possession. The Blazers’ offense has been behind and taken a while to get going in the last two games, but it has been their defense that has kept them in it. While LeBron James may have been in a different mindset during the game in Portland, it is not easy to hold the best player in the NBA to just 11 points. It is not easy to hold Nowitzki under 20 points. Heck, even in the Golden State game, the Blazers held the Warriors under 100 and Stephen Curry did not have that great of a shooting night as he dropped 21 points on just 6-for-18 shooting. Portland seems determined on the other end and it is impressive to see the effective they are having on the some of the best players in the NBA.
Portland was hot from the field. As a team, they shot 52% from the field while shooting 40% from three. In any game, a team has to like their chances while shooting like that. But, with the defense, you end up embarrassing teams. Aldridge was effective in his 30 minutes of play. He finished with 20 points on 10-for-16 shooting and had seven rebounds. LA was solid all night and was able to hit his patented jumper in rhythm and gave Portland that steady pulse it needs in their offense.
Damian Lillard, while perhaps not the best shooting night, finished with 18 points on 6-for-13 shooting, 1-for-6 from three, but also provided five rebounds, six assists and one steal. While the fourth quarter was mostly garbage time, like I said, Lillard provided 10 ten points in the quarter on 3-for-4 shooting, 1-for-2 from three. Lillard had a slow first half only scoring six points on 2-for-7 shooting, 0-for-3 from three, but picked it up in the second to have an impact late and in the fourth quarter. Shocked?
The bench provided everything Portland needed and a person could safely say that they outplayed Dallas’ bench. Wait, what? McCollum finished with 13 points on 4-for-8 shooting, 3-for-4 from three and had two rebounds, three assists and one block. Steve Blake continued his superb play by finishing with eight points on 3-for-5 shooting, 2-for-4 from three, two rebounds and three assists. He even guarded Nowitzki and succeeded. A person cannot say that too often. Because of the great bench play, the starters were able to rest. Aldridge and Lillard were the only starters to register 30 or more minutes, but just barely. They played 30 and 32 minutes respectively. To further illustrate this, Portland’s bench outscored the Maverick’s bench 42-35. When has that happened in the past two-three seasons?
This game was just another step for Portland. They are continuing to show new habits and better ways to beat teams. It looks like the Blazers are able to finish off teams more efficiently and quickly and not allowing a team to feel like they can get back into the game. It also looks like the defense has improved. That talk was not empty in training camp or by the players. There have actually been results on the court and not against the bad teams in the NBA.
Next up, the Los Angeles Clippers. The Blazers will take on the Clippers on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PST at the Staples Center. Blake Griffin vs. LaMarcus Aldridge and Chris Paul vs. Damian Lillard. These are two very good matchups and very a tough matchup for Portland in general. The Blazers beat the Clippers twice in the preseason, but that does not mean anything at this point. It will be another tough test, but good test to see if Portland can keep up the defensive intensity and offensive firepower. Stay tuned!