PORTLAND -- Not only did defeating the 76ers in Philadelphia last week give the Trail Blazers, a team missing four of their five Opening Night starters at the time, one of their best wins of the season, it also provided a reminder of what can happen when you don’t take a game versus an injured team seriously.
“Coming on the heels of our win in Philadelphia when we were undermanned and we were able to get a win in Philadelphia being severely undermanned with injuries, I think Orlando is in that same position,” said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. “We can’t fall into that trap.”
Trap avoided.
The Trail Blazers held a lead for all but the first three minutes and 17 seconds of Tuesday’s game versus the Orlando Magic and eventually came away with a 106-97 victory at the Moda Center.
“Given our situation with injuries, things that like, everything that we’re dealing with, we’ve got to take advantage of every opportunity that we get,” said Damian Lillard. “We played another team tonight that was beat up on our home floor, we was supposed to be playing Monday in Charlotte but our schedule was rearranged and it kind of played into our favor. Things like that happen and you in a better position you were in before and then your opponent is banged up, you’re on your home court, it’s important to take advantage of those games and get them done. Tonight I was happy we bounced back and took care of business.”
The Trail Blazers are now 13-10 overall and 6-5 at home this season. The win is their eight-straight versus the Magic, a streak that dates back to the 2016-17 season.
Playing without Evan Fournier, Markelle Fultz, Aaron Gordon, Michael Carter-Williams and Jonathan Isaac, the Magic entered Tuesday’s game with 11 players available (and that number reduced to nine with both Al-Farouq Aminu and Cole Anthony sitting out the second half). And while they’re at nowhere near full strength, the Trail Blazers had more than enough talent to jump out to an early lead.
Behind 42 percent shooting from both the field and from three and a 13-2 run in the first quarter, the Trail Blazers led by as many as 16 points before the first quarter expired. A poor-shooting second quarter -- Portland shot under 30 percent from both the field and from three -- would allow the Magic to stick around, a reoccurring theme Thursday night. But while it should have been more comfortable, the Trail Blazers couldn’t feel too bad about taking a 50-43 lead into the intermission.
Portland’s offense got back on track in the third quarter, and while their defense didn’t exactly do them any favors -- Orlando shot 57 percent from the field in the quarter -- they’re capable of extending leads versus teams like the Magic via scoring alone (almost).
Which they did. The Blazers took an 84-73 lead into the fourth and led by double-digits for almost the entirety of the rest of the game. They were never really able to take it easy -- the starters didn’t come out of the game until there was a little more than a minute remaining in regulation -- but they didn’t ever really seem in danger of losing, either.
“I thought we played a solid game throughout the night,” said Stotts. “We got off to a good start, we maintained the lead throughout. Orlando made some shots, kept it close and they competed hard, but I thought overall, we played a good game.”
Lillard led all scorers with 36 points on 9-of-22 shooting from the field and 13-of-13 shooting from the free throw line to go with five rebounds, two assists and a steal in 33 minutes.
Carmelo Anthony went 7-of-16 from the field, 5-of-9 from three and 4-of-5 from the line for a season-high 23 points to go with three rebounds and three blocks. With the performance, Anthony passed Oscar Robertson for 12th all-time in scoring.
“That’s a big honor right there,” said Anthony. “I try to play it cool sometimes, I try to sit back and reflect on these moments, take these moments in. I’m enjoying it... I’m glad I’m in a situation where I can continue to move up on those charts, pass some people. But the Big O, that’s big.”
Gary Trent Jr. added 15 points and Anfernee Simons contributed 11 off the bench. Derrick Jones Jr, Robert Covington and Enes Kanter combined for 31 of Portland’s 54 rebounds.
Nikola Vucevic led the Magic with a double-double of 27 points and 15 rebounds. Portland native Terrence Ross added 22 points off the bench.
Next up, the Trail Blazers continue a three-game homestand versus teams from the East by hosting the 76ers less than a week after the previous meeting. Tipoff is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m.