Yes, he was a bad opponent, but…
The Portland Trail Blazers lost their second straight win in as many days Detroit Pistons 110-104 Monday Night. Victory comes just one day after defeating a team Orlando Magicbringing the Blazers up to 2-1 on their current road trip.
Portland drove in with 31 from Damian Lillard and 26 from Jerami Grant.
The Pistons achieved a balanced attack, led by Isaiah Levers, with 17 points. Behind him, Corey Joseph had 14, and Jaden Ivey and Alec Burkes each dipped with 13.
If you missed the game, check it out Quarter-by-quarter summarization here
Now for some notes from tonight’s win:
Damian Lillard… again
It’s easy to become sensitive to how amazing Lillard has been lately. Tonight he recorded his third career triple-double of the night. It was also the fastest of his career, as he got it with just over three minutes left in the third quarter with just over 25 minutes to play. Lillard set the tone with 16 first-quarter points to help the Blazers jump out to a huge lead, before falling back and making it easy on everyone else on the team on his way to 12 assists. She achieved a season-high 13 rebounds. This was also Lillard’s 26th consecutive 20-point game.
flying triads
The Blazers made 15 three-pointers in just 33 attempts, which is 46% of depth. Six of those came from Damien Lillard, but Jerami Grant and Cam Reddish added four and three, respectively. The Blazers used the drive and kick offense again and again. This resulted in high quality depth shots almost every time. An effective night of three leads to victories very often in the NBA, and this night was no exception for the Blazers.
The Blazers shot just under their season average of 34.8 attempts per game, but the efficiency in those shots gave them the advantage tonight.
Defense comes together
The Blazers have finally shown what they can do on the defensive side of the ball, and all it takes is playing the team with the worst record in the league. The Blazers held the Pistons to just 104 points, the lowest total allowed since they gave up 101 for Oklahoma City Thunder in a loss on December 21st.
However, there have been some promising signs from the Blazers’ defense. They had seven steals and six blocks. They forced 16 total spins and kept the pistons to just 31% of the distance. Of course there is more work to be done on defense moving forward and a recovery would help that goal, but tonight was a show of what could be.
near collapse
The Blazers seemed to be in control of almost all of the night’s contests. However, they were outscored 30-21 in the fourth quarter and almost allowed the Pistons to steal the game late on. Lillard had to play almost all of the final frame.
The Blazers entered the fourth quarter with only four turnovers, but it was a very different story after that. They had seven in the final frame alone. This allowed the Pistons to gain an additional 11 points from turnovers in the quarter. Fortunately, the Blazers managed to hold out late in the game with a few layoff shots.
recovery scourge
Damian Lillard hit a season-high 13 rebounds tonight, but the Blazers still held the lead, 52-38. Their inability to keep Detroit away from the offensive glass proved to be a weakness. They allowed 16 offensive rebounds and 14 second chance points. The Blazers shot much more efficiently than the Pistons, especially from deep, but that advantage was completely mitigated as it allowed the Pistons to beat their own mistakes over and over again throughout the contest.
With both Jusuf Nurkic and Justis Winslow sidelined, the rebound was always tough against a bigger club. The Blazers were able to overcome the rebound difference thanks to Lillard’s rebound and the ability to make up for lost points with threes on the other end.
Beat the break
The Pistons scored 22 points in the rush tonight, compared to just one point from the Blazers. Detroit is the second youngest team in the league and they played just like that tonight. They forced live ball turnovers which resulted in easy points, but also escaped missed shots. The Pistons accelerated the Blazers’ performance all night and used the advantage to score points without having to face a specific defense.
On the other hand, the Blazers played offense almost exclusively at Halfcourt. Fortunately, there were times when the Pistons’ defense gave way to a quickly breaking appearance of quality.
the next
The Blazers are back in action Wednesday night vs Boston Celtics For the fourth game of the Six Road Trip. Hints This match is at 4:30 pm, Pacific.
Read more
“Typical food guru. Problem solver. Devoted beer practitioner. Professional reader. Baconaholic.”