The Blazers coasted to a nice simple win against the struggling Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. CJ McCollum regained his form at last, scoring a game high 24 points on 10 of 14 shots. But it was the bench guys who distinguished themselves the most, scoring a total of 56 points, and looking solid all around. Seth Curry led the second unit, notching 17 points with his parents in attendance. The Bulls did their best to keep things close, but the Blazers remained under control for much of the game. Final score 124-112.
The first half remained fairly competitive as the Bulls hustle kept them in it. Lillard, usually the lead scorer on this team, focused more on dishing assists and getting others involved, a recent trend. He finished the game with 16 points and 10 assists. Nik Stuaskas returned to the lineup and immediately made his presence felt, hitting two three pointers in the second quarter.
The crowd gave a warm welcome to former Blazer favorite Robin Lopez who banged it up down low with Jusuf Nurkic and Meyers Leonard all night. The Blazer big men, including Zach Collins, all played well. In fact, the theme of the night would be "even handed attack" from the Blazers, with nearly everyone contributing in some way. This is a nice development from a team which at times can rely too heavily on it's star player, Lillard. Maurice Harkless sat out the game with knee soreness. Let's have a look at a particularly sweet crossover move by CJ McCollum in the second quarter:
Crossover James McCollum at it again! pic.twitter.com/jCrJOoTvnZ
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) January 10, 2019
The Blazers carried a 5 point lead into halftime, not a significant margin, but there was a solid sense that things would open up. Here's a visual survey of some of the fans gracing the Moda Center that night:
Bringing a li'l Blazer to the game:
Nice face paint:
When asked how long they'd been Blazer fans these folks replied, "A long time."
These two Bulls fans came from Seattle for the game. They're from Chicago originally and since Seattle lost the Sonics they stay loyal to their old hometown:
The second half saw the predictable separation as the Blazers pushed their lead to 10 points by the end of the third quarter. Zac Collins brought some needed intensity, though at one point he needed to be calmed down on the bench by teammates McCollum and Harkless, as evidenced here:
Find you friends like @moe_harkless & @CJMcCollum
😂😂
(cc: @zcollins_33) pic.twitter.com/oeTpjZH2nQ
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) January 10, 2019
Although this was a good game for the Blazers overall, defense remains a bit of an issue. Chicago got a lot of open looks. This doesn't seem to matter against middling teams like the Bulls, but stronger teams will take advantage. Lillard appeared to hurt his elbow in the fourth quarter, after which he exited the game. He later said he'd be alright but Blazer fans will want to keep an eye on that.
A comfortable Blazer lead in the final minutes allowed Coach Stotts to give rarely seen rookies Anfernee Simons and Gary Trent Jr. some playing time. Simons scored 4 points, while Trent Jr. got 1. Simons, the youngest Blazer, really does look like a kid out there, but he's got a smooth game and it will be fun to watch him develop. Here we see Dame giving some advice to the young fellow:
The Blazers are now over halfway through the 2018-19 season and hold a 25-17 record, good for 5th place in the Western conference. It will be a dogfight all the way to the finish this year as several teams crowd the top seeds. The Blazers take on the Charlotte Hornets at home on Friday, the last of this 5 game home stand. This game should be closer than the two that preceded it versus the Knicks and Bulls, but should still result in a win provided the Blazers can continue their strong team play.
