For my American readers, a question. What did you do over Thanksgiving weekend? Relax, eat a lot, watch a bunch of sports on TV? If you did end up binging hoops, you saw two vastly different Trail Blazers games.
Blazers vs. Kings: A Dominant Performance
The Blazers kicked off the weekend with a bang, taking on the Sacramento Kings, rolling their royal visitors 115-106 that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score suggests.
DeAndre Ayton was a force, putting up 26 points, grabbing nine rebounds, and adding a steal and a block to his stat line. This was probably his best game of the season. Deni Avdija and Anfernee Simons also stepped up, contributing significantly to the team’s success. Avdija’s 11 points in the third quarter and Simons’ 12 in the fourth helped seal the deal. The Blazers’ defense was on point, holding the Kings to just 20 points in the second quarter and building a solid lead that they maintained throughout the game.
Portland won despite shooting 28.7% from 3. They absolutely dominated the Kings in the paint, scoring an absurd 64 points compared to just 34 paint points for Sacramento. In a game, the Blazers didn’t make jumpers they did their work at the rim.
Sunday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks was a different story.
The Mavs, led by All World whiner and bucket getter Luka Doncic, edged the Blazers 137-131, in a shootout where both teams made 18 three-pointers.
Simons was the star of the third quarter, going full Anferno with 24 points, making his first eight shots of the quarter and assists three others. He account for 11 of the Blazers 15 made field goals in the third. That Simons heater came on the heels of a first half in which he sat the final nine minutes in foul trouble. He then fouled with eight minutes left in the game after playing less than five seconds of the fourth quarter. It was a truly bizarre night.
Despite the setback, the Blazers showed resilience, with Deni Avdija stepping up in the final minutes to keep the game close. Avdija has 14 in the fourth quarter and Portland had chances in the final two minutes, only to be undone by a late goaltend call and a missed Jerami Grant layup.
On Friday the Blazers did it without making shots, on Sunday they came up short while barely missing. Weird weekend.
For more insights and a deeper dive into the Blazers’ weekend games, tune into the Locked On Blazers podcast for this and much more.
Other Topics in Today’s Locked On Blazers Podcast:
- Anfernee Simons’ explosive third quarter against the Mavericks
- DeAndre Ayton’s standout performance against the Kings
- Key takeaways from the weekend’s matchups
