Blazers Refuse To Lose In Las Vegas, Advance To Tournament Semifinals

The Portland Trail Blazers remained perfect at the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League with a 95-80 victory versus the Boston Celtics in the tournament semifinals Sunday night at Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV.The Trail Blazers are now 5-0 in Las Vegas and advance to play the Memphis Grizzlies Monday night in the penultimate round of the Las Vegas Summer League Tournament. Portland has made a habit of going on runs in the first and third quarters throughout their time in Las Vegas, and Sunday night’s game versus the Celtics was no different.Early on in the contest and behind the shooting of guard John Jenkins, the Trail Blazers went on a 16-0 run to take a 22-8 lead and control of the game with four minutes to play in the first quarter. The Celtics would rally with the Trail Blazers’ bench on the floor in the second quarter, cutting Portland’s lead to 46-40 by the intermission. For a moment, it looked like the Trail Blazers might have a close game on their hands, a rarity during their run in Las Vegas, after the Celtics died the game at 59-59 after a Guerschon Yabusele three-pointer with 3:39 to play in the third quarter. But Portland would answer with a 10-0 run before going into the fourth leading 71-63.Archie Goodwin, who became the all-time leading scorer in summer league history with his performance Sunday night, scored seven-straight early in the fourth, giving the Trail Blazers a 78-65 lead while simultaneously breaking the Celtics’ hopes of extending their time in Las Vegas in the process. The Trail Blazers were led by Jenkins, who went 9-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from three for 25 points to go with two assists and a rebound in 21 minutes. Wade Baldwin IV continued his impressive play in Las Vegas with a double-double of 14 points and 10 assists while also tallying a rebound an a steal in 28 minutes. Zach Collins went 5-of-9 for 11 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and an assist in 24 minutes. Goodwin finished with 13 points, overtaking Coby Karl for the all-time summer league scoring title, while Jake Layman, Gary Trent Jr. and Anfernee Simons all added eight points. Next up, the Trail Blazers will play the Grizzlies, a team that advanced by way of defeating the 76ers in the quarterfinals, Monday night at Thomas & Mack Center in the semifinals of the Las Vegas Summer League Tournament. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.