It wasn’t quite Willis Reed, game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, but Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard gave his best performance during a 110-99 loss Sunday afternoon to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Limping and making faces to cross, Lillard led a team of Blazers already full of injuries in a valiant defeat at the end of a six-game trip with a brave 29 point performance.
If it weren’t for the HD quality and lack of fans, one would think that Clyde Drexler and Patrick Ewing were coming out of the tunnel, with short shorts and all that in the first room. On the one hand, the New York Knicks sought comfort in the intermediate game, punishing the Blazers in the middle area, with some attacks on the rim spread.
Fortunately for Portland, the new school’s approach won out initially, largely thanks to Lillard. After an abdominal strain forced him out of a game, the six-time All-Star was up to his usual tricks, either through his own 3-point skill, or through the threat of this.
Lillard often drew two defenders, allowing him to thread the needle and find teammates. Portland prepared for a remarkable night by hitting seven points out of 3 in the first quarter alone.
Those among the “fall cover fan club” are sure to be disappointed. Portland created an offensive pace in defense, bombing the Knicks’ screens and bringing the big one up, relying on their line of defense and speed of recovery. They finished fourth with a 16-7 run, and their aggressive defense was among the most important reasons.
As has generally been the case with Carmelo Anthony on the list, the Blazers again met on the “milestone watch”. It was poetic that Anthony needed just 14 points to overtake Oscar Robertson in 12th place on the list of all-time top scorers in Madison Square Garden from everywhere.
Offensively, one could see that he was aware of this, missing his first five shots. He did some of the small things, however, tracking the teammates’ marks and cracking down on defense.
In the meantime, the Blazers have found success elsewhere. Anfernee Simons demonstrated legitimate comfort as a general on the Blazers floor, Portland continued that trap on Immanuel Quickley – remember, he scored 31 points in the first encounter – and that showed some proactivity on the part of the Blazers. They sought to test the novice’s patience and discipline, with mixed results.
Even with less than 100 percent, the Knicks still saw Lillard as the most dangerous man on the field, often sending two to force the ball out. This led to a balanced scoring attack, but a deficit of six points in the range to be overcome.
The third quarter proved to be nip-and-tuck. After a Lillard crash with just 30 seconds in the break, it looked like the Blazers would need a standout performance from the supporting squad or a worthy defensive game sequence from SportsCenter. In the end, they got a little bit of both. Enes Kanter, another ex-Knick, accepted the challenge from both sides, as did Gary Trent Jr.
Blazers could never string together sequences to stop and score enough to take the lead; New York always seemed to have a chance that kept Portland just a few feet away. But after three, a competitive single digit battle continued.
The lack of composure contributed to the death of the Blazers in the final stretch of the fourth period; Anfernee Simons’ attack in the fourth period kept the door open for some of Lillard’s heroic deeds at the end of the game, but a series of mental errors – a turn on the pitch, a technical foul and a series of defensive lapses over a range of a few minutes – helped New York Game, stay away.
At the end of the game, Portland could never get ahead, but they stayed within the “Lillard Range”. We saw him mount a quick offensive infiltration and lead to victory. He attacked that goal creatively, stealthily advancing to attack the offensive glass or looting the overtaking lanes for steals. But, Portland just couldn’t consistently sustain it enough.
It was a great effort for this group. The Blazers had useful visuals at the end of the stretch, but they just couldn’t connect. The level of effort at the end of a six-game road shack was there. Unfortunately, they proved to be a few leaps away.
Other quick thoughts:
- It is hard to say that this Blazers team is “brave”, as it is the 28th defense in the NBA ranking. However, it is a good sign to see how balanced his offensive attack is this season. They had six players scoring at least 14+ points in their last two games and, this afternoon, they had five double-digit scorers. This depth and resilience should give them a chance to compete almost every night.
- It was not quite the homecoming that Carmelo Anthony expected. He seemed eager to put his mark on the game. He did some of the minor things that help to produce positive results, but his shot was not there. The search for 12th place on the all-time scoring list is only 12 points now.
- If you had told someone that the Knicks would only make five free throws, the answer would probably have been: “So, how much did Portland earn?“From that point of view, the free-throw battle seemed like an anomaly. Strangely, the Blazers hit 8 out of 16 and the Knicks hit only 9 out of 13, especially at the time of trash.
Points Box
What is the next:
The Blazers return home for the first time since January 25 to play the Orlando Magic on Tuesday at 7 am in the Pacific.