The Philadelphia 76ers entered the Moda Center tonight in search of a win over the Portland Trail Blazers. The competition showcased the best of 3 of the 4 biggest superstars on the floor: Joel Embiid, Damian Lillard and … Carmelo Anthony? YEP. Aside from a few moments at the Portland and Ben Simmons bank, access to this game was Hall-of-Famers only. Embiid scored 35, Lillard 30 and Anthony 24 (including a game-saving sprint in the fourth quarter), while Portland denied Philadelphia’s wish and won 118-114.
The Blazers came out in threes, to no one ‘surprise. Lillard and Gary Trent, Jr. made contact within the first two minutes. Trent would pour two more for the next 90 seconds and Lillard one more. Shooting like that would make you think Portland would take a huge lead, but they couldn’t defend Philadelphia inside. Made 7 threes in the first 6 minutes, they played 25-19 on … a lead, but hardly decisive. 3 minutes later it was gone. The Portland shooting and results remained spotty for the rest of the period. Portland led 37-36 after one. Lillard already had 19.
The Portland Banking Commission even extended the lead during their second quarter shift. Carmelo Anthony started it, followed by Anfernee Simons and Rodney Hood. Philadelphia’s domestic defense was disappointingly weak and the Blazers reserves took full advantage, building an 8-point lead. But again, the defense couldn’t sustain what the attack had built. Joel Embiid and his company destroyed them inside with dunks, rebounds and free throws. Philly center scored 15 in the period, including 4 in the last 2.3 seconds when Portland messed up an end-of-half inbounds. Philadelphia led 63-60 in the half.
The third period belongs to the stars at both ends. Embiid scored or drew so much attention that anyone else on his team could. Lillard didn’t hit that much, but he knocked out Philly’s defenses so Enes Kanter and his company could rebound. The approaches worked equally well, a de facto benefit to Portland, as Embiid was so dominant it got frightening. The Blazers held Lillard in for the bank shift, but their attack at the end of the quarter wasn’t as productive when the defense was poor. Philadelphia led 93-89 after the third.
Carmelo Anthony kicked off the fourth quarter on fire, hitting three three-pointers and a long two, sending teammates off the bench in leaps and bounds. That put Portland ahead of 5 points. After that, ‘Melo kept scoring … and scoring … and scoring. His juices also flowed on the defensive side. Portland still led to crunch days. But Philly knew where they wanted to score: on the edge. Between Embiid and Ben Simmons, they had the size to do it. Damian Lillard remained winless for most of the quarter and Anthony cooled off. This allowed Philly to sneak back in with their edge attack. The game was tied with 2:30 remaining. Trent, Jr, hit a three, then Kanter made an offensive foul on Embiid and opened the door ajar. Lillard hit a jumper in the track, widened it. Portland led with 5 on its way to the last 90 seconds. Embiid cut it to 3 with a minute to go, then Seth Curry hit a three. 22.1 seconds to go and the game was right. The Blazers had the ball with 5 seconds remaining. Anthony picked up the stone and committed a blocking error for free throws, which he hit, ending a 17-run period. Philly had the last shot with 3.1 left. They never got the chance. Robert Covington threw the ball away and Lillard iced the free throws to secure the win.
Box score
The Blazers will welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers to Moda tomorrow night at 8 a.m.