Although deprived of Damian Lillard, Jusuf Nurkic, Shaedon Sharpe or Keon Johnson, the Blazers followed up with a fourth success in five games on their current “road trip” which will end in Dallas on Sunday. In New Orleans, Jerami Grant (27 points, 8 rebounds) was excellent from start to finish to offer the 9th success of his season in Portland (106-95).
For their return home after a difficult trip (2 losses – 1 victory), the Pelicans had however started well, with an overpowering alley-oop sent by Jonas Valanciunas and concluded by Zion Williamson. The first quarter also gave rise to a duel of elegant shooters between Jerami Grant (11 points) and Brandon Ingram (10 points).
In another style, Zion Williamson allowed his team to race in the lead in the second quarter, winning in the paint (57-51 at halftime), but it was Portland who took over in the second quarter. back from the changing rooms. Anfernee Simons brings us a small 3-point series of which he has the secret (13 points over the period) and here are the Blazers who in turn take +6!
In contact thanks to the address of Trey Murphy (16 points), the Pelicans nevertheless end up cracking, like Brandon Ingram who takes his 6th foul three minutes from the end of the match while the gap swells to the dozen (102-90). The Blazers will no longer be joined with Jerami Grant at 27 points and Anfernee Simons at 23, plus Nassir Little coming out of the box with his season-best 15 points.
In this refreshing start to the season in the Western Conference, the Blazers keep pace with the Jazz (10-3) with a 9th success in 12 games, ahead of all the top names!
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Blazers tighten screws in 3rd quarter. Rather awkward in the first half, the Blazers were certainly refocused during the halftime talk in the locker room. Because they came out determined defensively, holding the Pelicans to 17 points only at 7/20 on shots, plus 9 stray bullets en route. New Orleans will only score 38 points in the 2nd half, with starving percentages: 13/38 including 4/15 from 3-pointers… A disaster!
– New Orleans Loses the Domestic Battle. Usually it’s their strength with the power of Zion Williamson obviously. But it was the Blazers who won the battle in the paint, with a +10 in points scored (46-36), and 11 offensive rebounds for 18 second chance points. Additionally, Portland held the Pels at bay, coming within 42 percent (33/79) in shots taken from inside.
– The Blazers travel well! No matter who is in uniform at the start of the match, Portland continues to win in enemy territory. Last night in Louisiana, the Blazers simply won their 6th victory in 7 away games, the best record in the League.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Jerami Grant. Symbol of the rather unexpected bench depth of the Blazers this season, Jerami Grant has perfectly assured as the offensive leader of his team deprived of several holders. With 27 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, he blackened the stats sheet and perfectly concluded his evening with several baskets to seal the fate of the match, including a nice dunk in traffic after a cross dribble that froze Zion.
✅ Zion Williamson. Even relatively well contained by the solidary defense of the Blazers, Zion Williamson ends his evening with 29 points at 9/14 on shots and 10/15 on throws. Author of a superb alley-oop at the start of the match, he will have tried everything in the last quarter, with 17 points by playing the 12 minutes of the period…
✅ Nassir Little. This season, if he exceeds 20 minutes of play, Nassir Little scores 10 points or more. This was again the case last night with a nice contribution of 15 points in 24 minutes for the former North Carolina, still as explosive, including 8 to finish the job in the last quarter.
⛔️ CJ McCollum. We could have included him in a duo of former Portland defectors with Larry Nance Jr. who also missed his match for his return from injury (0 point in 23 minutes), but 13 points at 6 / 17 on shots including 1/7 from 3-pointers, CJ McCollum seriously unscrewed for his reunion with the Blazers. Perhaps disturbed by Damian Lillard’s last minute package, he nevertheless finished with 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
THE FOLLOWING
New Orleans (6-6) : reception of the Rockets on Saturday.
Portland (9-3) : Last leg of the six-game road trip to Dallas on Saturday.
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