Games present an extra challenge for the Portland Trail Blazers while forward Deni Avdija remains out with a back injury. But the Blazers found a way to win without their star on Thursday night as they
took down the Atlanta Hawks 117-101 at the Moda Center.
They pulled it off behind the strength of a second-unit tidal wave that flipped a deficit into a double-digit Blazers lead in the second half. All the mojo happened while reserves Caleb Love, Rayan Rupert, Duop Reath and Robert Williams III shared the floor together. When the Blazers trailed 81-75 with under three minutes remaining in the third quarter, that group ripped off a 10-0 run to snatch back the momentum. By the 8:57 mark of the fourth quarter, they had played Portland into a 103-89 lead.
It all seemed to happen in a blink.
“They really brought some energy, some pop defensively and offensively,” Blazers acting head coach Tiago Splitter said about that pivotal bench unit. “They brought us back into the game and literally won the game there.”
Blazers starting guard Shaedon Sharpe was important with a team-high 24 points. Fellow guard Jrue Holiday provided a steadying 12 points and four assists in his first start since returning from a strained right calf earlier in the week. But as Splitter pointed out, the bench players were the heroes on Thursday night.
The four-man group, supplemented by shifts from Sharpe and forward Jerami Grant, busted Portland out of a shooting slump as Reath, Rupert and Love all knocked down two 3s apiece during the surge. They also got stops and steals and charged out in transition. Rupert finished with 13 points and three steals while shooting 5-7 from the floor. Love produced 12 points, four assists and three steals. Reath recorded eight points and a block — all during the second-half run. Williams registered six points, 11 rebounds and two blocks while giving Portland life with his energy all night.
Add in 16 points from Grant — returning from left Achilles tendonitis for his first game since Dec. 18 — and Portland outscored Atlanta 55-34 in bench points. That included a 37-14 margin in the second half.
Alongside the bench points, the outsized impact showed in the plus/minus. While Holiday was the only Blazers starter to finish as a positive in the category, Rupert and Williams both played under 20 minutes and finished as a plus-22. Reath was a plus-20 in just 13 minutes. Love was a plus-16 in 25 minutes.
“It started with our defense, though,” Love said about the run. “We were getting steals. We were getting stops, grinding out rebounds and … then just playing with confidence on the other end.”
The night felt especially big for Rupert. With all the injuries to the rotation this season, deep bench players like Rupert, Love and Sidy Cissoko have become relied upon for nightly minutes. With that opportunity, Love and Cissoko have stepped up for signature nights to propel Portland to wins. Against Atlanta, it was Rupert’s turn to join that party and be instrumental in a victory.
The 21-year-old from France played well enough to earn an extended shift in the second half, staying on the floor from the 2:37 mark of the third quarter until the 3:59 mark of the fourth. All three of his steals came during that shift. On the first one, he jumped on an arrant pass to push the ball in transition and power over Nickeil Alexander-Walker at the cup. On the second steal, he made up for a turnover by rushing back on defense to strip Alexander-Walker and prevent a fast-break layup. On the third, Rupert had just finished a left-handed layup to give Portland a 107-98 lead, and then he took the ball away from Hawks star Jalen Johnson in the backcourt.
“I know my first job is to put the pressure defensively on the point guard with my wingspan and to be disruptive on the court,” said Rupert, who has a 7-foot-3 wingspan. “So I just tried to bring energy.”
Along with the defensive impact, Rupert shot 3-4 from beyond the 3-point arc. That included a swish from the right wing to beat the third-quarter buzzer and a swish from the left corner on the opening play of the fourth quarter, an individual 6-0 run that gave Portland the final lead of the night. The typically calm Rupert let out some emotion on the buzzer-beater, flexing and barking after the ball went through the net.
“I don’t know, I was just hyped,” Rupert said about whether he was speaking French or English when he pumped himself up on the play. “I think I was speaking in English.”
“He was not shy on both ends,” Splitter said about Rupert’s performance. “He shot the ball well. … On defense, he’s almost perfect. He’s always pursuing those screens and getting over pick-and-rolls. He’s pretty good at that. And whenever he makes shots like today, and he was aggressive offensively, it’s outstanding.”
Rupert received a hearty cheer from the crowd when he checked out at the 3:59 mark of the fourth. The same thing happened when Love, Reath and Williams checked out at the 7:00 mark. Down the stretch, Portland’s starters plus Grant rode the momentum from that second-unit run all the way to a comfortable win.
“It was a team effort,” Splitter said. “The young guys getting the win and the vets just securing the end.”
