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The Portland Trail Blazers ended their four-game road trip with a 124-101 victory over the Detroit Pistons Thursday night at Motor City. The victory, Portland’s fourth in a row, marked their first undefeated road trip of at least four games since 2013. The Blazers got off to a slow start to beat the Pistons 73-49 in the second period after following a point to point. half-time.
Damian Lillard finished the night with 33 points and 10 assists, leading a pivotal charge in the third quarter with 16 in the frame. Lillard was one of six double-digit scoring Blazers, joined by CJ McCollum (24), Robert Covington (16), Carmelo Anthony (16), Norman Powell (14) and Enes Kanter (10).
Detroit was led by Jerami Grant, who had a hot first half at a night of 30 points. The Pistons also got a strong effort from their bench, evidenced by recently acquired Hamidou Diallo (19 points, seven rebounds) and Corey Joseph (11 points, nine assists).
For a detailed look at the action, check out our instant recap.
The score of the box
Here are some key points from Thursday’s game:
Half-time adjustments
After a lazy first half, the Blazers looked like a different team at the start of the third quarter. They used better ball movement, finishing with 27 assists out of 42 buckets made, and were also much more stuck on the defensive end of the floor. Lillard was at the forefront of the turnaround, scoring early and often en route to a 16-point quarterback in which the Blazers outscored the Pistons 36-27.
Key to the race was also Portland’s concerted effort to slow down Grant, who collected 17 points easily (and efficiently) in the first half. The final numbers don’t necessarily show it, but the Pistons’ top scorer was much less effective after the break. Most of his second-half score came in the dying minutes, with the game effectively already out of reach.
Indoors or outdoors
The Blazers were held to just 11 three-point attempts in the first half, knocking down seven of them. They made 19 after-half attempts, hitting nine of them to end the game 16-30 (53%) from beyond the arc. That turned out to be the difference in the game, as the Pistons, who were 6-16 away in the first half, were only 9-27 (33%) when the last buzzer sounded. , despite a number of widely open attempts.
Detroit topped the paint with 54 points, accounting for more than half of their total offense. Grant and Mason Plumlee were particularly lethal on the edge. However, with the Blazers starting at three, it wasn’t enough for Detroit to call. To add to the disparity, the Blazers also had nine more free throw attempts and were able to take advantage of that by going 24-26 from the strip on the night.
Push the pace
An interesting wrinkle at this game was Portland’s willingness to push the ball in transition, especially via the newly acquired Powell. Stormin ‘Norman lived up to his nickname, flying on the ground after catching the ball several times. The effort was contagious, with other players looking up at the passes to hit to catch the lopsided Pistons in the quick break. It’s a welcome addition to Portland’s offense, which has been noticeably slow in recent years.
Rotating DIY
For the second game in a row, Portland used a starting line-up of three guards. However, coach Terry Stotts has made some subtle changes to the rotation as the team continues to adjust to new staff. In particular, Lillard, who plays regularly throughout the first quarter, was replaced halfway through the first for Anfernee Simons. McCollum was the last starter to retire, heading for the bench at the two-minute mark. However, that was reversed in the second half, as Lillard played the entire third quarter.
It’s also worth noting that Derrick Jones Jr. recorded just 18 minutes in the match, his shortest running time in over two weeks, despite the Nassir Little missing the match due to a injury. Jusuf Nurkic was restrained again, but the leash seems to be getting a little longer. He crossed the 20-minute mark for the first time since returning from injury, playing 21 minutes in total, down from 19 in the previous two games.
next
The Blazers return home to face Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night. The game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT at the Moda Center.
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