Like past seasons, the Portland Trail Blazers have a knack for the dramatic. Already, there have been a couple of games where fans think “How did Portland win this game?” This game was yet another example and the question is posed again. How do the Blazers continue to pull these games off?
The Portland Trail Blazers, in a wacky and gutsy game, beat the Toronto Raptors in their first meeting of the season, 102-97 in OT. The Trail Blazers improve to 26-7 on the year and 15-2 at home. The Raptors fall to 24-8 and 10-5 on the road.
Toronto is a heck of a good team. They are one of the very few teams in the Eastern Conference that can ball and stand up to any Western Conference opponent. Coming into this contest, the Raptors were 9-2 against the Western Conference beating teams like the Clippers, Nuggets, Oklahoma City and Memphis. This team can play and plays in a similar style and with similar players as Portland. Their soon-to-be all-star point guard, Kyle Lowry, has been coming into his own in the past couple of seasons and recently signed to stay in Toronto long-term. He is averaging 20.5 points, 7.7 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals a game this season. He sets the tempo, plays with a huge chip on his shoulder and has expanded his game to new heights. He was once a point guard who had attitude problems and was seen as someone who was a bit of a head case. He spent a lot of time arguing with coaches, rubbing people the wrong way and always seemed to have an authority and attitude problem. Now, he may still have those same traits, but he is focusing them in a different direction. Instead of taking it out on his own team, he uses that attitude to fuel himself and to help him play better. I think what the observers are seeing from Lowry now is the result of a mindset shift that has done wonders for him and the Raptors who were lucky to grab him two seasons ago.
Toronto also has a young center who proves to be very beastly and scary. At only 22 years of age, Jonas Valanciunas has slowly been figuring out the NBA. If anybody remembers, when Toronto was supposedly tanking last season (funny to think about now), there was talk that anyone was on the table to be moved, except for Jonas. Toronto knew that this kid oozed with potential and was young. Toronto had time to teach him and grow him as a player. In just his third season in the NBA, Jonas is averaging 12.4 points 8.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. Watching tonight’s game showed just how powerful he can be. He had a couple of possessions where he just bullied and forced his way through the likes of Joel Freeland or LaMarcus Aldridge and got an easy dunk or lay-in. He is that strong and big.
What this all means is that each team has a dynamic starting line-up and has solid benches. In fact, it is arguable that Toronto has a better bench than Portland with players like Greivis Vasquez (who could be a starting point guard on some teams), Lou Williams and Patrick Patterson. They have also been doing this without their other all-star, DeMar DeRozan, who is expected to be back in a couple of weeks. How scary will this team be, then?
This game would feature the return of LA who had missed three games due to an illness. While still not 100 percent, LA gave it a go and would probably not play his normal minutes. Well, as the game progressed, it was obvious that the restriction was lifted and that Aldridge would be able to play through any sort of fatigue or shortness of breath.
Well, this game started with a resounding clunk from Portland. Literally, clunks were heard in the arena time and time again. Portland, in the first half, shot just 12% from beyond the arc going 2-for-17. Damian Lillard went 0-for-5 and Dorell Wright went 0-for-3. Wesley Matthews would have the only three-pointers, but even he went 2-for-5. Not only were the Raptors playing great defense and closing on all shooters and making it difficult for Portland to get into their patented perimeter passing to the open man, Portland was also just missing shots. Matthews had a few open top-of-the-key three-pointers that were either just short or clunked off the back iron. A lot of three-pointers looked ugly, though, (I’m looking at you Batum) where it would completely whiff the basket or not have a prayer as it hit the backboard. Still, Portland would only be down by seven, which is a miracle considering how much damage Toronto can do to a team. What saved Portland was Toronto’s poor shooting from the arc as well. They went 1-for-11 in the first half, but just a better percentage from the field than Portland at 42%. Terrence Ross had a rough, rough first half, only scoring two points on 1-for-7 shooting, 0-for-2 from three. Williams, who just had a scorching 31 points in Toronto’s previous game, finished with just seven points on the night on 1-for-10 shooting, 0-for-5 from three, with just five points in the first half and was really a non-factor the whole game.
The Blazers fought and fought all game and could never find that momentum that has always found them. Toronto kept making plays to hold the lead and Portland would either turn the ball over, attempt a tough contested shot or just simply miss a high percentage bucket. In the second half, however, the three-pointer came around. After shooting abysmally in the first half, the Blazers went 7-for-13 from beyond the arc in the second half shooting 54%. The Blazers made their run in the fourth quarter as Aldridge, Matthews and Steve Blake led the way. Portland would shoot 47% in the quarter and take their first lead since the first quarter with 1:36 remaining in the fourth quarter on an Aldridge jumper. The Blazer defense tightened the screws. The Raptors made only one field goal in the last 4:42 of the fourth quarter. The Blazers could not capitalize and with 0:22 remaining, the Blazers inbounded the ball with a two point lead. Nicolas Batum, known for his turnovers sometimes, looked to almost lob a pass to Blake across court that was stolen by the Raptors. The Raptors would then score on an Amir Johnson bank-shot, this game would go to overtime.
Portland got off to a bad start in overtime. Batum, once again, made an ill-advised pass and turned the ball over on their first possession of overtime that ended in a Ross three-pointer. However, Portland would respond with three three-pointers in a row. Portland had a 96-90 lead and looked to be in a commanding position. However, yet another bad pass, this time by Matthews, would result in a driving lay-up by Lowry that would give Portland just a two-point lead. The free throw game was then played and the Raptors simply ran out of time. What was the key tipping point was a clear path foul that was called on Vasquez as Batum started sprinting down the court. Furthermore, after a scramble under the Raptor’s basket, the Blazers somehow got the ball to Freeland who leaked out and got a dunk to seal it up. A fitting way to end the game. I will go into more detail, but Freeland was the MVP of this game in my opinion.
Freeland has filled in for Robin Lopez in some games and has looked better than ever. He finished with just two points, but had 12 rebounds and two blocks on the night. His fourth quarter heroics were on display. He had five rebounds (two offensive) and two blocks. He was the spark. The +/- stat does not do him justice. He was the reason Portland got back into this game. A fan can talk about the three-pointers and the defense, but the defense got better because Freeland played superbly. Fighting for rebounds and doing the dirty work, Freeland’s energy and intensity was felt by everybody. Furthermore, because Raptor head coach Dwane Casey opted to only play big man Valanciunas four minutes in the fourth quarter, Freeland had the advantage inside. I still am not sure what the reasoning was behind Valanciunas not coming back into the game. Jonas was eating Freeland alive for the most part and Portland did not have much of an answer.
LA had a heck of first game back. He finished with 23 points on 10-for-19 shooting with 13 rebounds, two assists and one block. What more can be said? He looked like he had not been gone and got right back into it. He probably settled for more jump shots at times, but his rebounding and inside presence was greatly missed.
Lillard had a bad shooting night, but still finished with 26 points on 9-for-24 shooting, 4-for-15 from three with nine assists, two rebounds, one steal and two blocks. Lillard hit probably the biggest shot in overtime. After Ross hit that transition three-pointer, Lillard, not two seconds later, dribbled down and hit a long three-pointer at the top of the key to make it even. The swing was back in Portland’s favor and did not give Toronto long to gain momentum.
Matthews had a quiet 19 points on 7-for-14 shooting, 5-for-10 from three with six rebounds and three assists. Matthews has been insanely hot from beyond the arc. He made his first three-pointer and looks to be getting even more automatic with that shot. Teams are starting to double-team him in the post, but also at the three-point line. Arguably, he is more of a threat right now out on the perimeter than Lillard is!
This was a huge victory for the Blazers and another game they can add to their resume. Portland beat the best team in the Eastern Conference in another overtime thriller. Next up, the second-best team in the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks. Do not be fooled, Atlanta may have been steeped in mediocrity and semi-good teams for a while, but this Hawks team has been playing lights out thanks to the fantastic play of Kyle Korver. They currently have a 23-8 record. Portland will play them Saturday at the Moda Center at 7:00 p.m. PST. Portland will have some time get rest and get their plans in order. They will also play Atlanta on the second of a back-to-back. Stay tuned!