NEW ORLEANS — After the Portland Trail Blazers stiff-armed the New Orleans Pelicans to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season, Shaedon Sharpe sat in the corner of the visiting locker room at Smoothie King Center.
His white road jersey had long been removed. His feet were submerged in buckets of ice water. His calves were wrapped with gigantic bags of ice.
It was about the only thing Wednesday night that could cool off the Blazers’ starting shooting guard.
Deni Avdija delivered another prolific performance, Jrue Holiday provided a memorable third-quarter burst and Toumani Camara had a workmanlike defensive night. But it was the sensational play of Sharpe that fueled a 125-117 Blazers win and had everyone buzzing in the postgame locker room.
“He was unbelievable,” Portland interim coach Tiago Splitter said.
And, perhaps most important, he was unbelievable for the second consecutive game, offering hope that his early-season funk is officially a thing of the past.
Sharpe punished the Pelicans from all three levels, erupting for a season-high 35 points while adding five rebounds, three assists and two steals in a performance that was both clutch and needed. The Blazers, who already were playing without injured rotation players Scoot Henderson, Matisse Thybulle and Blake Wesley, lost another in the first half Wednesday night when Jerami Grant was ejected for his part in a minor kerfuffle with New Orleans center Yves Missi.
But it didn’t matter, in part because Portland (6-5) was playing the worst team in the Western Conference, and in part because Sharpe was so electric.
The Blazers’ starting shooting guard started strong, scoring seven first-quarter points, and ended even stronger, scoring 10 points on 4 of 5 shooting in the fourth quarter. He made nine of his first 12 shots and finished 13 of 18 from the field, unleashing a mix of pull-up jumpers, three-pointers, smooth drives to the basket and highlight-reel dunks.
The latter came late in the third quarter, when Sharpe gathered a chest pass from Kris Murray on a fast break and hammered a tomahawk dunk in transition. Then, when the pesky Pelicans were feverishly trying to mount a late-game comeback, Sharpe erupted on a mini individual run to quell the rally.
New Orleans trimmed a 15-point Blazers lead to four twice in the final three minutes, but Sharpe answered with buckets both times, completing a layup with 2:52 left and swishing a 13-foot pull-up jumper with 2:18 left. On the ensuing possession, Sharpe picked off a bad pass from Jeremiah Fears on one end, then sprinted for a fast-break dunk on the other end, spotting the Blazers a 120-112 lead they never relinquished.
“This,” Donovan Clingan said, laughing, “was training camp Shae.”
It feels like eons ago when the Blazers couldn’t go a day in training camp without praising the growth and dominance of the No. 7 pick of the 2022 NBA draft. And when he inked a 4-year, $90 million contract extension on the eve of the regular season, he seemed poised for a monster year.
Instead, Sharpe started as cold as Wednesday’s postgame ice bath.
He made just 5 for 20 shots in the opener. He went 5 for 15 a game later. He made 5 of 30 three-pointers over his first four outings. Heading into Monday’s matchup against Orlando, Sharpe was shooting 38.3% from the field, including a paltry 24.6% from three-point range.
Quietly, he was nursing a sore left calf, which forced Splitter to limit his minutes.
But his calf seemed just fine Wednesday night, when he took another step away from that early-season slump.
It was Sharpe’s second consecutive offensive eruption — he scored 31 points against Orlando — and over the last two games, Sharpe is averaging 33 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal, while shooting 69.4% from the field, including 41.7% from long range. He’s been chasing aggressive drives to the basket early in games to spur first-quarter mojo and open up the floor, after which he’s used his pull-up game and long-range shooting to keep defenders off-balance. As a result, Sharpe has attempted 14 free throws and made 25 field goals, his highest two-game total in both categories this season.
Along the way, as Sharpe has finally found his groove, he’s loosened up defenses for his teammates.
“It spaces the floor, it gives us energy, it gives us an extra boost,” Clingan said, noting how the Blazers benefit when Sharpe performs at this level. “Shae’s one heck of a player. Obviously, he started off the year struggling to shoot the ball. But the way he’s been playing these last couple games is something special. And I know Shae; he’s going to keep that going.”
The Blazers ended a two-game slide Wednesday. But they watched Sharpe officially wave goodbye to a season-long funk.
“Shae’s amazing,” Avdija said. “I said it in the beginning of the season (when) he struggled a little bit. I said he has great talent, he’s a very good player, and I was not worried a bit about him. And I’m happy he’s getting his rhythm back. We definitely need him.”
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