The Portland Trail Blazers kept it close most of the way, but eventually fell to the New York Knicks 123-114. A back-and-forth affair - both in the movement up and down the court and the score - the Blazers and Knicks brought more energy than could be reasonably be expected for a Sunday afternoon game and gave both fanbases something to cheer for. The Blazers took a lead midway through the fourth, but the Knicks used an 11-0 run and a bunch of threes to put the game away in the closing minutes.
Deni Avdija. Finishing with 25 points, 5 boards, 4 assists, and 3 steals, Avdija was once again his All-Star self and made his presence felt immediately by hitting the Blazers’ first shot (a three) before getting a steal for the fast break lob, then offered two MORE lobs… all in the first quarter. When the Blazers were stagnating early in the third, it was yet another Avdia steal and fast break bucket that brought the game back within spitting distance and sparking a small Blazers run. Unfortunately, Avdija went straight into the locker room with about two minutes left in the game on what appeared to be a non-contact play. We will of course share more information as we get it.
Honorable Mention: Caleb Love (see below).
Crisp Blazers decision-making. It started early and kept up late, with the Blazers making decisions both in the half court and on the break with urgency and (most of the time) precision. Were all of the decisions the RIGHT ones? No, as evidenced by how three-happy they were early, including going just 3-12 from deep in the second quarter (and some of those were early pulls). Despite that, I’d way rather a team err by being slightly aggressive than slightly passive.
Caleb Love turning into an NBA rotation player out of thin air is a revelation. After going undrafted as a 23-year old, Love (now 24) signed a two-way contract with Portland and has now averaged 16.3 points, 3.4 boards, and 2.5 dimes on 47% shooting (42% from deep) in 29 minutes per game over the last 10 games. These stats don’t include his game tonight where he went for 21 points with 4 boards and 4 dimes. For a team like Portland, unexpected development like this from a few players is critical, and while it’s still a little early to tell whether this will hold up over the course of months rather than weeks, Love has been remarkably consistent when he’s gotten meaningful minutes.
Second chance point disparity. Simple as this: Knicks 16, Blazers 7. Was this THE reason Portland lost? No. Was is ONE of the reasons? Yeppers.
20 - Blazers first-half fast break points. With the aforementioned decision-making came a lot of quick attacks at the rim off the break, with Portland scoring those 20 fast break points to New Yorks’ eight in the first half. For reference, the NBA league leader in fast break points per game are the Toronto Raptors at 19.3, and Portland averages just 13.8.
Portland will hit the road for a single late game against the Golden State Warriors this Tue. Jan. 13 at 8pm Pacific.