Live from the Moda Center as the Portland Trail Blazers host the New Orleans Pelicans.
Welcome home, division champs. After last night’s blowout win against the Lakers, the Blazers have officially clinched the NW Division. Time to make some room in the rafters for another banner.
On top of the Blazers clinching the division, they are now guaranteed to finish this year no worse than fourth in the standings. It's one of the perks of being a division champ—Portland could finish with the sixth-best record in the West and still be locked into the 4-5 series in the first round. Home court isn’t a guarantee though, so there's a still a reason to finish the season strong.
If the Blazers can't secure home court? Meh. They started last year on the road and that series turned out juuuuust fine.
PRE-GAME:
The hits keep coming for Portland, as it was announced Dorell Wright will miss 4-6 weeks with a broken hand. Yep, another hand injury, and another rotation player down. The Blazers just can't seem to catch a...wait for it...break.
The Pelicans are going to be a tough out—they’re just a half game back from OKC for that eighth playoff spot in the West, and they’re pushing hard for the postseason. And hey, Anthony Davis is in the building. That dude is a beast, and the Pellies are a tough out anytime he's on the court. He could go one on five and probably win. One on five isn't far off considering the supporting cast New Orleans has assembled around him. I see you, Luke Babbitt.
FIRST QUARTER:
11:27 - Robin Lopez with the first bucket of the game. Robin Lopez revenge game? 2-0 Blazers.
8:55 - Eh, not the best start here for Portland—they're playing without much energy on the second night of a back to back. The fans are doing their best to get the team going, but so far it has been all New Orleans. 9-2 Pelicans.
7:44 - Anthony Davis is good. He blocked a LaMarcus Aldridge fadeaway (that's possible?!), and it led directly to a Eric Gordon three. Timeout Blazers. 14-4 Pelicans.
4:53 - Two quick buckets for the Blazers and New Orleans needs time. The Pelicans have forced four turnovers and picked up some easy buckets, but outside of that this game has been a slog. Maybe both teams are just paying tribute to the Kentucky / Wisconsin game on right now and breaking out their college-paced offenses? 16-10 Pelicans.
3:08 - Right on cue, here comes CJ McCollum to give the Portland offense a shot in the arm. I don't know when CJ turned into MJ, but I'll take it. 18-13 Pelicans.
1:00 - Ryan Anderson guarding Aldridge in the post is a lot different than the Brow. The Blazers have gone to LA on the last three possessions, and he finally has something working on offense. 22-18 Pelicans.
0:00 - An Aldridge three at the buzzer was a good two feet long, but Chris Kaman was right there to grab the board and put it back in. I hope LA got an assist for that one. 24-22 Pelicans.
SECOND QUARTER:
11:14 - Steve Blake with the Steve Nash, dribbling the baseline and throwing up a one-handed, off-foot layup from behind the backboard. And just like that, the Blazers have the lead. 26-24 Blazers.
9:18 - Blake for three! He missed his first attempt, secured his own miss, and the ball found its way back to him behind the line for a second chance. Both he and CJ are killing it out here. 33-28 Blazers.
8:44 - Blake for another three! 36-28 Blazers.
7:06 - Even Batum seemed surprised by that foul call. He thought he felt contact, threw up a prayer, and it wasn't close. The ref standing right there didn't call anything. As both teams were making their way up the court, the ref on the other side of the floor decided to call a shooting foul. That was at least five seconds late, and Monty Williams has a right to be mad. 38-30 Blazers.
5:47 - Meyers Leonard three-pointer. The crowd moaned when he passed one up earlier, but he let that one fly without thinking about it and found the bottom of the net. 41-32 Blazers.
5:02 - A rough swing, as it seemed like Anthony Davis tipped a Lillard shot off the rim. The refs didn't call it, and the Pelicans were able to leak out into transition and hit a layup on the other end. The crowd, and coaches, are livid at that no call. 41-36 Blazers.
2:56 - CJ with a pretty drive and kick to a cutting Aldridge for an easy dunk. He followed that possession up with a three. McCollum 2.0 is the best. 50-41 Blazers.
0:35 - The Brow completely erased a LaMarcus jumper, but the Blazers were able to secure the loose ball and still score. Davis is shaking his hand after that play, presumably because blocking Aldridge so hard transferred LA's power over to him. 54-41 Blazers.
0:00 - For a team in the middle of a playoff battle, the Pelicans sure have chilled out after their early outburst. 56-44 Blazers.
THIRD QUARTER:
11:05 - LA with four quick points to start the quarter, going right at Anthony Davis and succeeding. Davis is probably gonna just mope around the court now that Kentucky lost. 60-46 Blazers.
10:20 - Dame Dream Shake? Dame Dream Shake. 62-46 Blazers.
8:56 - These refs aren't making any making any fans. First they reversed an out of bounds call after the ref closest to the ball gave it to Portland while the ref further away from the call overturned it. Then on the next possession Anthony Davis secured the ball before coming back in bounds, but the ref let it stand and he scored. Oof. 62-52 Blazers.
8:29 - Yep, the refs are losing control. Omer Asik flopped and somehow picked up a foul call, and Robin Lopez picked up a technical for arguing his case. 65-58 Blazers.
6:24 - This one feels like it's slipping away from the Blazers. Lopez couldn't draw a foul, Aldridge trucked Asik on a rebound attempt, and Tyreke Evans scored with ease at the rim. 67-63 Blazers.
4:56 - The refs are letting them play, and neither team is happy. 69-63 Blazers.
3:23 - There is going to be a fight this game. The refs have swallowed their whistles, and both teams are livid. After Lopez was mugged without getting a call, he nearly punched the world dead. 69-67 Blazers.
2:58 - Gordon for three, and the Pellies have the lead. The Blazers keep waiting for that call but it ain't coming. Until someone throws a punch, that is, and at this rate it is definitely coming. 70-69 Pelicans.
0:00 - The Pelicans came out swinging, and while Portland's lead isn't what it was at the half, the Blazers weathered the storm. Things finally settled down after a rough stretch of officiating, and hopefully the refs don't decide the final outcome. 75-72 Blazers.
FOURTH QUARTER:
11:24 - Not only can Meyers drain threes, he can take his man off the dribble and score on reverse layups. 77-74 Blazers.
8:25 - Ryan Anderson finally sinks his first shot of the night after going 0-4. Of course it's a three. 81-77 Pelicans.
7:24 - LA took Anderson to the post and drew a foul. And, right on cue, here come Anthony Davis and Omer Asik to help the defense. 81-79 Pelicans.
6:00 - Norris Cole somehow got away with nearly dragging Lillard down by the jersey, but Lillard drained the floater anyway. 83-81 Blazers.
3:59 - Batum for three! What a time for his first field goal on the night. 88-85 Blazers.
3:24 - Dame, with the heads up shot attempt coming off a screen. Norris Cole got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and Dame picked up three freebies as a result. 91-85 Blazers.
2:39 - Both Aldridge and Kaman converged on an Asik dunk attempt and swatted it off the backboard. The rebounded bounced long, and Batum ended up with a breakaway and drew a foul on Evans on the layup attempt. Batum sunk both free throws, and the Portland is close to closing the door on tonight. 93-85 Blazers.
2:16 - Another block, and this time Aldridge picked up a transition dunk on the other end. That should just about do it. 95-85 Blazers.
1:04 - Portland shifted into another gear and this one is somehow over. This was a close game just a few minutes ago... 99-88 Blazers.
FINAL: 99-90 Blazers. Sorry, New Orleans. Hate to play playoff spoilers but home court advantage is on the line. With this win, the Blazers are now up to fifty on the season and are a half-game back from starting the playoffs at home.
