O Portland Trail Blazers won the terribly shorthanded Orland Magic 112-105 Friday. Anything short would have been a disaster, with Orlando dressing everyone but the arena coach and team after essentially dispatching the top third of his list yesterday in the negotiation deadline. Jusuf Nurkic made his long-awaited return. Robert Covington was great. Enes Kanter was, too, returning to his role as a bank. But that is not what we are here for today. Like a child receiving a forgotten Christmas gift in July, all eyes were fixed on the Blazers’ shiny new shotgun toy.
Despite not having time to practice with the team, Norman Powell, who was just a trip from the highway from where his former team was transferred in Tampa, took the walk and entered the starting line in place of Damian Lillard, who lost the game due to a “left knee bruise”, which hopefully approaches “deserved rest against an oppressed opponent”.
Powell played 36 minutes and went as advertised, scoring 22 points from 7-13 shots, including 5 trios to go along with 2 steals and a block. With CJ McCollum struggling through a difficult night of filming from 8 to 26, Powell practically saved the day for the Blazers. What a debut.
First quarter
Portland’s new line-up did not fit in immediately, at least in defense, as all the forgotten members of the Magic cast were “Island of Misfit Toys” in the Blazers for most of the opening period. Orlando played with an almost cliché level of confidence with nothing to lose, kicking the ball at a rate of almost 80% for most of the quarter before falling back to Earth. CJ McCollum, in the role of protagonist, was the point of attack, but was mostly content with three points on the way to 11 points. Powell filled Garth well for his Wayne, scoring 8 points and it looked like he had been the target of the attack all season. It wasn’t long before he saw the tools he brought to the table: shooting outdoors – especially from the corners – and a deadly dribble-drive. The Magic led by up to 6, but Portland remained at an attack distance and ended up taking the lead in the final minute. Blazers took 35-32 after one.
Second bedroom
Portland started to build up defensive pressure and Orlando was suddenly unable to buy a bucket. With Magic launching lineups of guys who probably never shared minutes on the floor together outside practice, much of the action was improvised, which led to a questionable selection of strokes. For example, Mo Bamba is a 28% sniper of 3 points this season, but that didn’t stop him from trying 6 tonight, of which he only scored 1. The Blazers were happy to let Orlando shoot himself out of the game and just had to step on the water to push his leadership even further. Anfernee Simons made his return to rotation and immediately found his shot put, hitting three from the outside in a prolonged run. Portland had a 10 point lead in the 65-55 range.
Third quarter
With the game in relative control and a comfortable victory apparently on the horizon, everything fell apart for the Blazers in the third quarter. Instead of ending the game, Portland suffered a disastrous stretch of almost 5 minutes in which it went without goals and allowed Magic to come back and tie the game. This included an especially frustrating streak in which Nurkic had consecutive twists in sloppy passes on the open court, leading to a bucket from Orlando. The drought was finally ended with a three from none other than Powell, because rescuing his new team from ridicule and embarrassment on the first day of work is apparently something he brings to the table. Who knew? More work still needed to be done, but the Blazers had a small advantage of 80-77 going into the final frame.
Fourth trimester
The last 12 minutes were stressful, with Portland coming out of their offensive crisis, but now having to deal with an inspired Magic team with nothing to lose. Powell continued to fuel the attack alongside McCollum, but Dwayne Bacon became a proverbial thorn and helped keep Orlando close the rest of the way. A James Ennis three in the middle tied the game in 94, but the Blazers were able to maintain their composure and score seven consecutive points that ended up becoming the decision.
Grades
Nurkic’s return was great to see, but probably filled with more groans than screams. He had problems at first and never seemed to find a rhythm in the attack, but his trademark size and physicality were present in various defensive possessions. There will certainly be guys taking care of bruises in the locker room. The sequence of bad passes was spontaneous and careless, and he later looked at an open Powell in the corner for a three-point attempt of his own that did not find the mark. Some rust is expected, so he’ll be able to get through here, let’s hope he recovers.
Points box
What is the next
The Blazers will have a day off before facing none other than Gary Trent Jr. and the Toronto Raptors on Sunday afternoon at 4 pm Pacific time.