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Portland Trailblazers
Steve Blake fed Greg Oden inside, and the big man fed him back. Blake’s defender had converged on the Portland Trail Blazers 7-foot center, leaving the veteran starting point guard wide open. He canned the three-pointer that ensued for his 11th, 12th, and 13th points of Portland’s contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In the first three games, he had nine points total. He was struggling, to say the least, averaging just three assists as well as an uncharacteristic two turnovers per game. He hadn’t yet acclimated to his new surroundings, as Andre Miller, in many aspects the better player, has been breathing down his neck and would happily assume the starter’s role. But though head coach Nate McMillan endorsed the Miller signing, and is enamored with his ability, he stuck with Blake against the Thunder, hoping he would make strides and become the player that was so vital to their success last season.
The Blazers had a very solid opening quarter, scoring 25 points on 10-20 shooting, while raking up 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, and committing only one turnover. More importantly, they held Thunder star Kevin Durant to one field goal in the first period, and held the entire Thunder team to 15 points. Then, they lost their momentum, as their second unit continued their struggles.
Over the first five-plus minutes of the second quarter, Portland looked awful, turning the ball over an astonishing seven times while managing to take only three shots; they missed all three. During that span, Oklahoma City went on a 15-4 run, and were suddenly ahead in a game the Blazers once had complete control of. Rookie shooting guard James Harden drained two three-pointers in succession to cap the spurt.
Portland looked like the team that struggled during the preseason, completely confused on both offense and defense. This Hyde-version of the Blazers has appeared far too often this season, and even though Portland’s first unit re-entered and helped the team fight back, there bench’s inability to play even satisfactory basketball is troubling.
After Harden’s second three forced a flustered McMillan to call a timeout, Juwan Howard and Brandon Roy sank jumpers to regain the lead, but there next 2 1/2 minutes were unbearable. Howard missed, center Joel Przybilla had his shot blocked, Roy missed a three-pointer and a layup, and then Blake turned the ball over. Luckily for Portland, Oklahoma City was similarly anemic, managing only a free-throw by Jeff Green over than same span.
Travis Outlaw and Blake hit back-to-back three-pointers under two minutes remaining for six of the 14 points by the Blazers in the second quarter. That gave them a five-point lead, even after Durant scored the quarter’s final three points via the free-throw line, Portland somehow could boast a halftime lead.
They started the third quarter as slow as they did the second, mustering only a tip-in by Oden over the first four minutes. Unlike in the second, the Thunder unfortunately took advantage. Oklahoma City made an unsightly 13 of 36 field goals in the first half, but though they had three turnovers during the period’s opening two minutes, they were aggressive, making 4 of 6 free-throws to compliment a slashing layup by point guard Russell Westbrook and a driving, uncontested dunk by Durant.
Blake and Outlaw, once again, hit back-to-back three-pointers, regaining the lead. Martell Webster kept the Blazers rolling, scoring on three consecutive possessions for a seven-point advantage. Portland kept a four-point lead heading to the fourth, and though they managed to only make four field goals during the final period, they were able to not only win, but also increase the margin in doing so.
Blake made one of those four, his fourth three-pointer and first basket since the three-pointer off Oden’s assist. He notched the final points of the contest, making two free-throws to seal a nine-point victory. In all, he scored 18 points in hopefully the ugliest win of the season for Portland. They made just 40 percent of their field-goal attempts, but the Thunder shot a miserable 34 percent. Roy shot just 5-17, but Durant managed to do worse, shooting a horrid 3-21. The Blazers were saved by Blake, the timely burst by Webster, the two three-pointers by Outlaw, and the leadership of Roy, and helped considerably by the Thunder’s ineptness.
If there is one good thing to come from this porous overall performance, aside from Blake’s return from hibernation, it’s that Portland knows how to win the hideous, hard-to-watch games. Let’s hope there aren’t many more of those.
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