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In a game where everyone and their mom decided to test their lineup, the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Charlotte Hornets 123-111 at the Moda Center.
Carmelo Anthony led the Blazers with 29 points off the bench while Damian Lillard and Robert Covington both had doubles-doubles. Lillard had 23 points and 10 assists; Covington had 21 points and 10 rebounds with two interceptions and two blocks. Lamelo Ball led the Hornets with 30 points on the evening.
If you want a quarterly snapshot of the action, check out Ryan Rosback’s instant recap here.
Hot shot propels blazers
Man, what a fun offensive game from Portland. Every time you hit 24 threes, it’s okay. [ed. You can say that again. It was an all-time franchise record.] Every time you do it on 26 assists it gets even better. It was an incredible Portland shooting demonstration tonight, and it completely made up for Charlotte’s otherwise stellar offensive night (15 lines on 44% shooting is very good!).
A good offense is the most important factor in the NBA right now. If your team can dominate from the three-point arc, they’re never out of any game. Portland, in particular, is a team that needs nights like this to make up for poor defense. It’s a cliché and tired saying, but the team with the most shots really has the best chance of winning.
Blitzing Lady
This is something that we saw a lot in this one, especially at the beginning. Defensively, the Hornets’ sole objective was to “get someone other than Dame to beat you.” This is not particularly surprising. League teams have been doing this for many seasons. While I admit I was worried at first when the Blazers were lagging behind after the first because of this strategy, I was happy with how well they adjusted.
Tonight, the supporting cast fired when he was called up. Lightning Defenses killed Portland for years in the playoffs; only CJ McCollum can hit punches consistently. They won’t play Charlotte in the playoffs, but it was encouraging to know the Blazers are capable of hitting when called up.
ROCO !!!
Let’s talk about Robert Covington for a second because … wow. He’s a career 35% deep shooter, but when a guy struggles like he’s been doing this year, it seems surreal to see him hit 5 of 7 threes in a game. He was extremely efficient offensively and was once again stellar on defense with a pair of blocks, two interceptions. and 10 rebounds. It was the perfect match for Covington.
It’s been tough watching RoCo struggle with his shooting all season, especially since his attacking role has always been “I’ll do all three if you pass it to me.” It’s very important that he hits three and I’m happy to see Covington playing well offensively.
Nassir Little Get Minutes
Few things this season have made me happier than seeing Nassir Little playing basketball. He plays with so much energy and seems to be having fun at least 99% of the time. Watching him do 20 minutes of action tonight was perfect. He played well.
Little ran off the ground and rolled hard towards the basket when needed. He finished his dunks with authority. He looked comfortable enough to pull three moves. I think there is an argument that he should have more minutes than Rodney Hood, although that is difficult given Hood’s ball handling ability (Hood also had +15 tonight if you care about that sort of thing).
Melo’s duality
Look, I don’t want to be completely down 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 were “No no no no … YES!” variety. I even smiled ear to ear when he traded shirts with LaMelo Ball afterwards. It was a very fun end to the game for Melo.
However, while the ending was fun, it was also a perfect game to show off Anthony’s duality. In even-numbered quarters, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were watching a Knicks comeback game. In odd quarters, he was a black hole that completely stopped the movement of the bullet and killed possessions by trying to foul or just shooting a bad shot. There is an exchange with Melo, and I think there has to be a better balance. Just because he’s posting doesn’t mean he needs to film it. It’s hard to stop this, but the answer just seems to be less post-ups. But in the end, it was just fun to see Melo finish the game with an insane shooting display.
[ed. 5 steals and 2 blocks to go along with his 29 points eased most of the sting. Both Melos played defense tonight! Yay!]
End the slippage
The most important thing for Portland every night is victory. The win ends a four-game slippage and puts them back on track to finish the first half of the calendar strong. Then they have the Warriors and the Kings, two teams that are definitely beatable. Can they end the week on a high note and then make an effort with a healthy CJ in the second half? It’s possible.
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The score of the box
On Wednesday night, the Blazers face the Golden State Warriors at the Moda Center. The tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. Pacific time.
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