In a game where everyone and their mother decided they wanted to test their series, the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Charlotte Hornets 123-111 in late center.
Carmelo Anthony led the Blazers with 29 points off the bench while Damien Lillard and Robert Cuewington both scored double-doubles. Lillard had 23 points and 10 assists; Cuewington had 21 points and 10 rebounds with two steels and two blocks. Lamelo Ball will lead the Hornets in scoring with 30 points at night.
If you want a quarter-by-quarter rudown of the action, check out RJ Roseback’s instant recap here.
Hot Shooting Propals Blazers
M, no, what a fun offensive game from Portland. Whenever you do 24 thrash, it’s been good. [ed. You can say that again. It was an all-time franchise record.] Any time you do that on 26 assistants, it’s been even better. It was an incredible shot-making display from Portland tonight, and it would completely set the stage for Charlotte’s otherwise stellar offensive night (15 Mad Thrash is pretty good at 44% shooting!).
Good offense is the most important factor in the NBA at the moment. If your team can dominate with a three-point arc, it’s never far from a game. Portland in particular is a team that needs this kind of night for subpair defense. It’s a vague and boring saying, but the team that makes the most shots really has the best chance of winning.
Blitzing Dam
This was something we saw a lot in this, especially in the beginning. Hornets’ only focus seems defensively, “No matter what happens, the dam will beat you.” That’s not particularly surprising. Teams around the league have done that for many seasons. While I will admit that initially I was worried when the Blazers walked away from the first one because of this strategy I was glad how well they adjusted.
Makes a supporting cast shot tonight at the behest. Blizzing defense in the playoffs has killed Portland over the years; Only CJ McCullum can hit consecutive shots. They’re not going to play Charlotte in the playoffs, but it was encouraging to know that Blazer is capable of hitting when called upon.
Stop !!!
Let’s talk about Robert Cuewington for a second because … wow. He’s a 35% career shooter from Nanda, but when someone struggles like him this year, it seems surreal to see him hit thre thre in the game. He was aggressively the most efficient and starred on defense again with a pair of blocks, with two steals. And 10 rebounds. It was the perfect Covington game.
It was hard to see Rocco struggle with his shot all season, especially considering his role aggressively has always been “If you give it to me I’ll make three.” It’s very important that he hits the thrash and I’m happy to see Cowing Winning play aggressively.
Nasir Little Getting Minutes
There are a few things that have made me happier this season than watching Nasir play Little Basketball. He plays with a lot of energy and seems to have fun at least 99% of the time. It’s worth watching tonight for 20 minutes of action. He played a good game.
Slightly run the floor and bend tightly over the basket when needed. He finished the dunks with power. It felt quite comfortable in the shooting movement thrash. I think there’s an argument that it should get more minutes than the road hood, although it’s hard to take into account the hood’s ball-handling ability (the hood was also +15 tonight if you care about that kind of thing).
Duality of Mello
Look, I don’t want to be downright when it comes to Carmelo Anthony because tonight was fun. His fourth quarter was absolutely absurd. He hit four threes and at least two of them said “No no no no … yes!” Were not. Diversity. I was also ear-to-ear when he then exchanged the jersey with the lame ball. It was a very fun ending to the game for Mello.
However, while the ending was fun, it was also a perfect game to show Anthony’s duality. This quarter, you’ll be forgiven for thinking you were watching a Throwback Knicks game. In the odd quarters, it was a black hole that completely stopped the movement of the ball and killed the goods either by trying to draw incorrectly or just hitting a bad shot. There is give and take with Mello, and I think there should be more balance. Just because he posts doesn’t mean he needs to shoot it. It’s hard to stop, but the answer seems to be fewer post-ups. But in the end, it was fun to watch Mello end the game with a crazy shooting performance.
[ed. 5 steals and 2 blocks to go along with his 29 points eased most of the sting. Both Melos played defense tonight! Yay!]
The end of the skid
The most important thing for Portland any night is a win. This victory puts an end to the four-game skid and puts them back on track to strengthen the first part of the schedule. They have Warriors and Kings ahead, two teams that have definitely beaten. Can they end the week on a high note and then push with a healthy CJ in the second half? It is possible.
Now the next
Instant recap
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The Blazers will face the Golden State Warriors in the late center on Wednesday night. Tip-set f 7:00 p.m.
