The Portland Trail Blazers cruised to a resounding 123-88 win over the Washington Wizards to wrap up a four-game homestand Sunday afternoon.
It wasn’t as easy as the final score suggests. The Blazers lacked urgency and let the lowly Wizards hang around. The Wizards overcame a poor shooting start to tie the game at 39-39 midway through the second quarter and it looked the Blazers might be in trouble for a second straight game.
But the Blazers flipped a switch, picked up the defensive pressure, and ran
away with a game that they needed to win.
The win gets the Blazers’s record back to .500 at 38-38 and sets up a critical showdown with the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night. The Clippers beat the Milwaukee Bucks earlier in the day to maintain their 1.5 game advantage in the Western Conference standings, so if the Blazers are going to have any realistic hope of passing the Clippers for the eighth seed, they’ll need to bring the defense that was on display Sunday against the Wizards.
The Wizards (17-57) shot just 36.8% from the field and made only five of their 22 three-pointers (22.7%). Will Riley came off the bench to lead the Wizards with a modest 14 points.
Toumani Camara led the Blazers with 23 points. Scoot Henderson, who started in place of the injured Jerami Grant, added an efficient 21 points on 6-11 shooting and 8-9 from the free throw line.
Here are a few key observations from the game.
Camara Clicking
Camara missed his first three shots and finished the opening quarter with just two points on a pair of free throws. After that, he played a nearly flawless game.
In addition to his 23 points, he grabbed seven rebounds and three steals. He made eight of his 14 shots, including 4-9 from behind the three-point line. For the game, he led all players with a plus/minus of plus-35.
But much of his impact couldn’t be fully captured in the numbers. His full court press gave the Wizards fits, he drew numerous offensive fouls, and his on-ball defense helped steer opposing ballhandlers into difficult shots.
Blazers Forcing the Right Looks
The Wizards managed just 15 first quarter points. The Blazers forced them to take the kind of shots that teams prefer to avoid as eight of their 23 first quarter shots came from the mid-range. The Wizards appeared to figure something out in the second quarter when they fought back to tie the game, but the Blazers regrouped and the defense locked back in.
When the Blazers are executing on defense, their main goal is to force mid-range shots. Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III patrol the paint and perimeter defenders rush out to challenge three-point shooters. In this game, it worked to perfection as the Wizards attempted 22 mid-range shots.
To put that into perspective, the NBA team that averages the most mid-range shots is the Sacramento Kings at 14.8 per game. The Blazers take just 5.9 per game and attempted only four against the Wizards on Sunday.
Baiting the Wizards into shooting 5-22 from the mid-range suggests that outside of their early second quarter lapse, the Blazers’s executed their defensive gameplan.
A Big Sigh of Relief
Clingan picked up two early fouls and limped to the sideline just three minutes into the game. Williams III entered the game, but when he was ready for a rest, Splitter turned to recently signed two-way contract player Jayson Kent instead of going back to Clingan.
But it turns out there was no reason for concern about Clingan’s health. Splitter simply chose to protect him from additional early fouls.
One of the lesser-discussed bright spots of the season has been Clingan’s ability to stay on the floor. He has not fouled out of a game all season and has only reached five fouls on four occasions over his 71 starts.
As a rookie, he fouled out twice in 67 games played and in one of those games, he lasted only 11 minutes. There were nine other games with five fouls committed, including one in which his hacking drew those whistles in just eight minutes.
Avdija and Henderson on Point
Even with Henderson and Jrue Holiday in the starting lineup, the Blazers continued to utilize Deni Avdija as their point guard. No surprise there. He got off to a strong start, scoring 15 of his 20 points in the first half.
It got interesting when he rested, though. During those minutes, Holiday played off the ball more than in recent games, while Henderson handled point guard duties.
Henderson did well with those responsibilities, dishing out seven assists while committing just two turnovers.
A Notable Return from Injury
It was good to see veteran referee Bill Kennedy back in action. Kennedy suffered a non-contact leg injury while officiating a game between the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers on January 9th and had to be helped off the floor.
He returned to action last week and was part of the crew on Sunday afternoon in Portland. His responsibilities did not include announcing the results of the official challenges on Sunday afternoon, but he’s among the league’s best. Hopefully he’ll have enough time over the next few weeks to get tuned up for the playoffs.
Up Next
The Blazers head out on the road for a huge Tuesday night matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers. The game will air nationally on Peacock with tipoff scheduled for 8pm Pacific.
