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Bench Plus Defense Adds Up to Win at Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS – Good NBA teams win games in multiple ways. In easily the lowest scoring and most balanced offensive game of the young season for Portland, the Trail Blazers (4-2) found a different way to get the job done, defeating Indiana (4-3) 103-93 Monday night in Indianapolis.

“That was a quality road win," said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. "It was a very good team. They play hard defense, they share the ball on offense, they’ve got good scorers. I was really pleased with our defense in the second half. After the start of the second half, I thought we did a really nice job of making it more difficult for them."

Portland held Indiana to just 41.1% from the floor and 31.6% from behind the three-point line. It marked the first time either team scored fewer than 100 points in a Trail Blazers game this season.

In what has become an early theme this year, Portland’s reserves played a pivotal role in the win. When the starters largely struggled, thanks in part to foul trouble, the bench answered the bell. The Trail Blazers claimed a huge 54-15 edge in bench scoring, with Evan Turner, Nik Stauskas, Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan all hitting double figures.

“The understatement was that the bench was outstanding," said Stotts. "Up and down the line, the plus/minus. Caleb Swanigan hasn’t played yet and gets a double-double. Evan Turner was terrific even though he was in foul trouble in the first half. Nick and Seth continue to play well together. Zach Collins gets better every day. I was really pleased in a lot of different ways.”

Collins matched his career high from just four days ago with a team-high tying 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field. Swanigan took advantage of his first significant minutes of the season, which only came due to both Jusuf Nurkić and Meyers Leonard combining for five fouls in less than a quarter of play, posting nine points and nine boards in the first half before finishing with career highs in points (11) and rebounds (10).

"I just played hard," said Swanigan, who was playing in familiar territory Monday night after playing his college ball at nearby Purdue. "That’s what I pattern my game off of, play hard and compete, and the ball bounced my way tonight, so it made me look better.”

TOP PERFORMERS

Zach Collins shot 70 percent from the field and scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. The 7-0 center out of Gonzaga also added three rebounds, three assists and a steal in 27 minutes.

Damian Lillard's streak of scoring at least 28 points ended at five games with a 16-point performance on 5-of-13 shooting Monday night versus the Pacers. Lillard also had a hard time staying on the court due to foul trouble, thought he would end up playing just under 33 minutes.

CJ McCollum finished with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting to go with six assists and a steal in 32 minutes. Al-Farouq Aminu added a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds in just under 29 minutes.

Caleb Swanigan put up a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes. Evan Turner had one of his best statistical outputs of the fledgling season as well, going for 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes.

Nik Stauskas added 10 points and a team-high five assists in 24 minutes.

Victor Oladipo led all scorers with 21 points on 9-of-24 shooting. He also added nine rebounds and seven assists in 36 minutes.

LISTEN UP

NOTABLE

• The Trail Blazers improved their record to 2-1 on their current road trip and 4-2 overall this season. Portland will travel to face the Houston Rockets Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m.• The Trail Blazers have now won eight of their last night games versus the Pacers, including four of the last five in Indianapolis.• Portland placed seven players in double figures, including four off the bench as the Trail Blazers’ second unit outscored Indiana’s bench 54-15.• Portland’s bench also combined to outrebound Indiana’s second unit 26-9.• Zach Collins set a new career high with 17 points as he shot 7-for-10 from the field in 27 minutes off the bench.• Caleb Swanigan posted his first NBA double-double and set new career highs with 11 points and 10 rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.• Evan Turner tied his season high with 13 points and set a new season best eight rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.

QUOTABLE

"Just his confidence. Even from Day 1 of training camp, I just feel like he's getting way more comfortable out there. He's trusting his jumpshot a lot more when he's picking and popping, he's aggressive going to the basket, he's finishing well. That's exactly what we need from him. And he's defending his ass off, too."  -- Nik Stauskas on how he's seen Zach Collins improve

NEXT UP

With the Eastern Conference portion of the trip now finished, the Trail Blazers head to Houston to face the Rockets in the second night of a back-to-back Tuesday night before heading home. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.