PORTLAND -- For the first time since the start of the regular season, the Portland Trail Blazers had more than one day off between games to prepare for Wednesday night’s contest versus the Pacers. And with those two consecutive days of practice, the Trail Blazers focused on improving their defense, which currently ranks as one of the worst in the NBA. If their performance through the first three quarters of Wednesday night is any indication, that extra practice paid off. The Trail Blazers went up by as many as 28 points in the second half before coming away with a 131-109 victory versus the Pacers in front of a crowd of 19,107 at the Moda Center.
"It was certainly good to get a win," said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. "I was really pleased with our defense in the first and third quarters particularly. I liked the attitude that we came out with. I was disappointed that we kind of got into exchanging baskets there a little bit in the second quarter, but offensively it was a really good game."
Portland came out of the gate with an improved focus on defense, holding Indiana to just 7-of-21 shooting in the first quarter. The Trail Blazers would use an early 14-2 run, capped by a Meyers Leonard three-pointer, to take a 22-13 lead at the 3:58 mark of the first quarter, though Indiana would manage to cut the deficit to eight by the start of the second.
The defensive effort that helped the Trail Blazers hold their opponent to 33 percent shooting in the first waned a bit in the second, with the Pacers scoring 35 points in in the second on 53 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent shooting from three. But that dip in defense had a corresponding bump on the other end, with the home team scoring 42 points on a ridiculous 76 percent shooting from the field and 71 percent shooting from three to take a 73-58 lead into the intermission.
“When our defense was good enough to force turnovers or get long rebounds, we really got out and ran and just had a good flow to the offense," said Mason Plumlee. "I think anytime you get layups, it helps everybody’s confidence, so the offense was free flowing tonight and that felt good."
The Pacers would manage to shoot 61 percent in the third quarter, a far better percentage than what the Trail Blazers shot in the quarter, though Portland forced seven turnovers while committing none. So despite shooting 14 percentage points worse than the Pacers in the third, the Trail Blazers still manged to build a 28-point lead in the quarter while outscoring their opponent by 11 to put the game out of reach before the fourth.Allowing a team to score well over 100 points on 50 percent shooting might not sound like a great defensive performance, but for a team that has struggled to even keep games close, Wednesday night’s performance, on both sides of the ball, ranks as a positive. And to be fair, Portland held Indiana to under 50 percent shooting through the first three quarters before a combination of letting up a bit due to the lead and allowing the bench to play extended minutes gave the Pacers a chance to get some easy buckets.
"A lot better than what we had been showing," said Allen Crabbe of Portland's defense Wednesday night. "Those two days of practice did us good. That's what practice was about: defense, defense and more defense. We had some errors tonight but for the most part, I feel like we did a solid job. We kept the lead -- they cut it down a little bit but we always had a double-digit lead on them. So I feel like we did a good job at executing, sticking to our plan tonight."
"Obviously he’s shooting the three well, he’s taking the ball to the basket, he gets offensive rebounds," said Stotts of Harkless. "He’s an opportunistic player. I don’t run a lot of plays for him, he just finds his way and finds opportunities for himself."Plumlee put in a yeoman effort with 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting, nine rebounds and six assists in 27 minutes. CJ McCollum scored 15 of Portland’s first 17 points in the third quarter to finish with 19. Evan Turner continued a run of strong play, scoring 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting while handing out six assists, grabbing four rebounds and swiping three steals. Allen Crabbe shot 50 percent from the field to finish with 15 points.
"The game looked easier for the guys who score a lot regularly, it looked easier for guys who play off of them, and I thought Evan (Turner) came in and played great tonight," said Plumlee. "He just gave us a huge lift and (Crabbe) did as well. So the starters, the bench – it was a collective effort and for us to be a good team, it’s going to have to be that way.”The Pacers, playing without Paul George, were led by a 25-point, eight-assist effort from Jeff Teague. Next up, the Trail Blazers wrap up a four-game homestand by hosting the Heat Saturday at the Moda Center. They'll once again have two days off to prepare, which means they'll likely spend more time trying to carrying over the effort from Wednesday's game into Saturday's contest.
"It's hard to keep that mindset, it's hard to stay focused like our team was tonight," said Lillard. "I think that's what separates average teams from really good teams. We've got to use an effort like tonight where we were consistent, we were locked in, we played well on both ends, and we've got to build on it. It's not easy to do but we've got to find a way to get it done and put one game together. Then two games together, then three games and eventually it becomes who you are and what you do. I think that's what we're trying to work towards and I think tonight will be a good start."
Tipoff is scheduled for 7 pm.