Blazers feast on Kings, move to 2-1 in NBA Cup standings

The Portland Trail Blazers battled through injuries to defeat the Sacramento Kings 115-106 at the Moda Center on Friday night ahead of a Thanksgiving feast. The competition carried some added weight to it as it was an Emirates NBA Cup game. The Blazers may not have a title-contending team this season, but they are still alive to get a wild-card spot for the knockout stage of the NBA Cup.

Due to injuries to rotation players Jerami Grant, Scoot Henderson, Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams, the Trail Blazers got off to a slow start against the Kings. The pace was high and the Blazers had trouble finishing at the rim. Maybe it was all the turkey and stuffing, but it felt like the Kings wanted to run away with the game. Then Deni Avdija decided to make tonight’s game his signature moment with the Blazers. With Grant injured, Avdjia got the start and set the tone with his aggressive drives, passes and three-point shooting. The rest of the team fell in line and carried it home for the win, overcoming a slow start from Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe.

Deandre Ayton played one of his best games of the season, finishing with 26 points and 9 rebounds. Dalano Banton led the bench scoring with 17 points and went 3-6 from three point range.

The Blazers have had an up-and-down season, but have played their best games at home in the NBA Cup. It’s hard to get a good read on this team with all the injuries forcing different lineups every night, but the eye test tells you something is cooking in Rip City.

MVP of the game

Avvdija got the start in place of the injured Grant and made the most of his opportunity. It looked like he was going to audition for a future start at the four spot if Grant is traded this season. If that were to happen, the Trail Blazers offense would see an increase in playmaking and assists. Grant is a great offensive player, but the ball tends to stop with him. He usually makes the most of his opportunities, but the rest of the team stops and watches.

Tonight with Avdija at the helm, the team dished out 27 assists (15 of those coming in the first half). The Blazers are averaging just 21 assists per game on the season, which is second-lowest in the league. Avdija did a good job tonight of forcing the action and looking for teammates. There was a play with 3:10 left in the second quarter when Avdija threw a laser to Sharpe for an easy layup on the break. It was a high level of difficulty passed. It also got Sharpe going offensively after not scoring in the first quarter.

Avdija finished with 20 points and went 4-9 from deep, with 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and a block in 37 minutes. He brings a different flow to the Blazers’ offense.

Force turnovers

The Kings have struggled this season, but they still have one of the most lethal offenses in the NBA. The Blazers rose to the challenge and locked them down. Portland forced Sacramento into 14 turnovers in the first half and 20 total for the game. Led by Toumani Camara and Banton, the Blazers were active in the passing lanes and never allowed the Kings to get easy buckets. Banton would set a career high with 5 steals. If the Blazers can deploy this type of defense every night, the offense will start to improve. The team tends to stall when their opponents can set their defense, but when they are in the open court, the Blazers are deadly.

Pick-N-Roll

The Blazers treated tonight like a playoff game. Coping with the frantic pace to start the game, the team slowed down and worked on the pick-n-roll. Avdija and Ayton were the main attraction of this show, but Simons also started cooking in the second half. Down the stretch, the Blazers put two shooters in the corner, held a release valve in the high post and let the pick-n-roll shred the Kings defense. When Avdija or Simons turned the corner, it was checkmate. You don’t want to use this offense every quarter, all season long, but when it comes to crunch time, the best teams are the ones that can execute the pick-n-roll.

Under pressure

The Blazers were outscored in transition tonight 8 for 14 and shot just 29% from three-point range. Normally, this would be a recipe for disaster. Despite these negative statistics, they won comfortably. Why? The answer comes down to pressure. Portland forced mismatches and created easy baskets at the rim. Although the team shot poorly from deep, they still managed 51% from the field with 64 points in the paint. Compare that to the Kings scoring 34 points in the paint and you’ll see why the Blazers pulled away in the fourth quarter.

Tide turn

Early in the second quarter, the Blazers were still struggling to find rhythm and effort. Enter Jabari Walker. Walker has struggled this season and honestly hasn’t seen much playing time. Portland has a logjam at the forward/center position, and Walker has been on the wrong end of the rotation. But tonight, when his number was called, he was ready to go.

At the 10:42 mark of the second quarter, Walker grabbed an offensive rebound and scored. On the next defensive possession, he battled veteran Jae Crowder for a rebound and drew a loose ball foul. He immediately followed that up with another offensive rebound/hustle play and an assist to Kris Murray for an easy layup. That whole sequence took less than 40 seconds, but in my opinion turned the tide of the game. Soon after, the Blazers would take the lead and never look back. Walker only played 10 minutes, but he made the most of his opportunity.

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Box score

Blazers will welcome Dallas Mavericks to the Moda Center on Sunday evening at 6 p.m., Pacific.