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Andrew LopezESPN
NEW ORLEANS – Another night, another clutch performance from Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard.
Sure, this one included another game-seal bucket from Lillard – his 25th match-binding or leading field goal in the last 20 seconds of the fourth quarter or extra, the most in the NBA since entering the league in 2012-13 – but the 126-124 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday and the recent success for the Blazers is about more than Lillard’s individual success.
With CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins all missing time, the Blazers’ six-game win streak and eighth nine-game win is a “collective effort.”
“I find the beauty in what we’re doing now and why it was so fun and so special, just like last season, I had a run where I scored for 10 games like 48 a game, and then the bubble I scored. 48, 50, 60, we just had big gigs, but we didn’t play that great, ”said Lillard.
We didn’t get any stops. We didn’t move the ball. It wasn’t as collective as it is now … Everyone comes in and does their job. I’m not just saying that to give people credit. It looks like it does, because everyone comes in and does their job. Without CJ, Nurk and Zach, we won’t win these games if it’s not collective as it has been. “
Lillard called every Blazers rotation player by name when he talked about how “fun” the team is having this time. But it doesn’t hurt if your superstar goes for 43 points and keeps his career high with 16 assists.
Despite New Orleans ‘scoring output, Lillard says he can see the Blazers’ defense – ranked 28th in defensive efficiency after Wednesday’s games – begin to turn around.
“I think we’ve just been locked up in it lately,” Lillard said. “We’re a lot tighter for longer periods. Teams go on runs, it happens, we’ll run like any team does. Tonight I thought we were playing really hard and physically and smartly defensive and they had 124 points. I think. just that our urgency is gone. We communicate. We take on a challenge. Every man is committed to playing defense and making that effort. “
Portland coach Terry Stotts said he thinks the team has improved defensively by returning to a victory against Philadelphia on Feb. 4. In the past eight games, the Blazers have held the 13th defensive position in the league.
“The numbers aren’t in our favor, but we’ve always had the trouble,” Lillard added. “I said that earlier in the season. We just haven’t always been on the same line in communication.”
Communication was key for Portland on Wednesday, especially as the Pelicans were given the opportunity to even the game or send the game into overtime based on last possession.
After Lillard’s en-1 seeded the Blazers with two with 16.5 seconds to go, it was clear the Pelicans would be trying to get the ball into the hands of Zion Williamson or Brandon Ingram.
“We scouted some of their games at the end of the game and they kind of confuse it, just like the last game they went to Zion,” said Stotts. “You knew it would be in one of their two hands.”
The Pelicans sent the ball to Josh Hart, who turned it over to Ingram. Williamson went forward to set up a screen for Ingram, but their defenders switched, leaving Derrick Jones Jr. on Williamson and Robert Covington on Ingram.
Covington put Ingram on the drive and forced a pass-out to Lonzo Ball for a deep 3. Hart tapped the ball back out and made his way to Ingram in the corner. Ingram took a dribble, setting a disputed 14-footer against Carmelo Anthony who didn’t fall as Portland secured the win. A team that wins – with defense, that is.
“I think it’s a big win for us, but I don’t think it’s the biggest win for us this season. We played well defensively and we played well offensively. We just had to tighten a bit more on the defensive side. what we did, and I’m glad we did, ”said Jones. “We will continue to learn from this victory and come back to it.
“When we started this road trip, we had the mindset to keep our streak going, and we keep going. We go out every day to play the right way. We know how to play. just go out every day and play the right way. As long as we do that, the sky is the limit for us. “