Isaiah Thomas proved why he's the NBA's top fourth-quarter scorer Thursday night as the Portland Trail Blazers (23-31) were defeated by the Boston Celtics (34-19) in front of a sold-out audience of 19,393 at Moda Center in the Rose City. Thomas scored 15 of his game-high 34 points in the final period to lift the visiting Celtics to a bounceback victory after falling in Sacramento the previous night.
Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and Mason Plumlee combined for 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting in the first quarter to lead the Blazers to a 32-22 advantage after 12 minutes. Portland extended its lead to as much as 17 in the second quarter, but a 13-2 Boston run to close the first half led by Thomas’ 14 points in the period. Despite Boston’s surge, the Blazers still held a 55-49 lead at the half.
“I was pleased with our first half except for the last two minutes," Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said. "We built a good lead, we played with good energy, we were good at both ends of the court, but the two minutes at the end of the first half took away a lot of our momentum. We weren’t able to build it back up at the beginning of the second half. We kept it competitive but in the end, the last two minutes of the game is when you’ve got to make those plays.”
The Celtics hot shooting continued into the second half, outscoring the Blazers 28-21 in the third quarter. Although Portland went 9-of-21 from the field and committing seven turnovers in the period, the home team was able to limit Boston’s damage to go into the fourth quarter trailing by just one at 77-76.
Though Al-Farouq Aminu would score 10 points to reach a season-high 26 points in the final period, the fourth quarter belonged to Thomas. The Seattle native shot 4-of-7 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line in the final 12 minutes to give Boston the road victory.
"The second best team in the East right now, you give them life and allow them to feel like they’re still in the game and they could take it over," Lillard said of Boston's comeback. "Then in the third, they took the lead and from that point on, I think it was a back and forth game. Both teams competed hard and they got down the stretch and they made those plays we didn’t make.
In total, Portland shot 50.6% from the field to best Boston's 48.4%. The Blazers commited a total of 16 turnovers, 10 coming in the second half.
Lillard finished with 28 points on 8-of-20 shooting to lead the Blazers, while Aminu scored his season-high 26 off the bench on an efficient 8-of-12 night from the field. McCollum added 20 points in the loss.
Thomas' 34 led seven Celtics in double figures. Marcus Smart finished with 20 points, while rookie Jaylen Brown scored 14 in the Boston win.
Next, the Blazers host the Atlanta Hawks Monday night at Moda Center. The Celtics' West Coast road trip continues with a stop in Utah on Saturday.