The Philadelphia 76’ers came to Moda Center in search of a revenge victory against the Portland Trail Blazers tonight. The contest featured the best of 3 of the 4 biggest superstars on the floor: Joel Embiid, Damian Lillard and … Carmelo Anthony? Yes. In addition to a few moments by the Portland bank and Ben Simmons, entry to this game was only for Hall of Fame members. Embiid scored 35, Lillard 30 and Anthony 24 (including a run that saved the game in the fourth quarter), while Portland denied Philadelphia their wish, winning 118-114.
The Blazers went off firing three, to no one’s surprise. Lillard and Gary Trent, Jr. connected in the first two minutes. Trent would serve two more and Lillard another in the next 90 seconds. With a kick like that, you would think that Portland would be gaining a big advantage, but they could not defend Philadelphia from the inside. 7 trios made in the first 6 minutes of the game left them with 25-19 … an advantage, but hardly decisive. 3 minutes later, he was gone. Portland pitches and results remained uneven for the rest of the period. Portland led 37-36 after one. Lillard was already 19.
The Portland bench committee actually extended the lead during the second quarter shift. Carmelo Anthony started, followed by Anfernee Simons and Rodney Hood. Philadelphia’s home defense was disappointingly soft and the Blazers’ reserves took full advantage, building an 8-point lead. But, once again, the defense failed to sustain what the attack built. Joel Embiid and company destroyed them inside with dunks, rebounds and free throws. The Philadelphia pivot scored 15 in the period, including 4 in the final 2.3 seconds, while Portland spoiled an end of time on the pitch. Philadelphia led 63-60 at halftime.
The third period belongs to the stars at either end. Embiid scored or drew so much attention that someone on his team could. Lillard didn’t hit that many, but he took Philly’s defense off the track so that Enes Kanter and company could recover. The approaches worked equally well, a in fact advantage to Portland, as Embiid was so dominant as to be frightening. The Blazers kept Lillard on the bench, but his attack at the end of the quarter was not as productive as the defense was poor. Philadelphia led 93-89 after the third.
Carmelo Anthony started the fourth period on fire, hitting three points and two longs, taking teammates out of the bench with jumps of joy. This put Portland at a 5 point advantage. So ‘Melo kept scoring … and scoring … and scoring. Their juices were flowing at the defensive end as well. Portland was still leading toward the critical hour. But Philly knew where they wanted to score: on the edge. Between Embiid and Ben Simmons, they were big enough for that. Damian Lillard remained goalless for most of the quarter, and Anthony cooled. This allowed Philly to sneak back with his edge attack. The game was tied with 2:30 remaining. Trent, Jr, hit a three, so Kanter committed an offensive foul on Embiid, opening the door a crack. Lillard hitting a jumper on the track widened it. Portland led by 5 towards the final 90 seconds. Embiid reduced it to 3 with one minute remaining, so Seth Curry hit a three. There were 22.1 seconds left and the game was a draw. The Blazers had the ball with 5 seconds remaining. Anthony took the stone and scored a free-throw block, which he hit, closing a period of 17 points. Philly had the last chance with 3.1 remaining. They never got the chance. Robert Covington deflected the ball and Lillard hit the free throws to guarantee victory.
Points Box
The Blazers welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers to Moda tomorrow night at 8:00.