Trail Blazers Look For First Win As Series Shifts To New Orleans For Game 3

After losing the first two games at home in their first round playoff matchup versus the Pelicans, the Portland Trail Blazers find themselves on the virtual brink of elimination as the series shifts to New Orleans.And while a team needs four wins to take a best-of-seven series, no NBA team has every rallied from a 3-0 deficit to advance, making Thursday night's Game 3 at Smoothie King Center, for all intents and purposes, a must-win for the Trail Blazers. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. After enter the 2018 NBA Playoffs with all the excitement and expectations that come with earning the three seed in a competitive Western Conference, the Trail Blazers have been soundly bested by the Pelicans in the first two games of the series. Portland needed a fourth-quarter rally to put a scare into New Orleans, though they ultimately lost 97-95, while Game 2 was the more competitive affair even if the 111-102 final score would indicate otherwise. But while the Trail Blazers had their moments in Game 2 -- they led by as many as nine points in the first half -- the series has been defined by the Pelicans' defense, and particularly the play of Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday.Davis, the 6-10 power forward/center in his sixth season out of Kentucky, is averaging 28.5 points on 52 percent shooting, 13.5 rebounds, 3.0 blocks, 2.0 steals and 1.0 assists through the first two games of the series, though his ability to dominate in the paint on the defensive end has been arguably his most important contribution to the Pelicans' success in the first two playoff meetings. But it's been the play of Holiday on both ends that has been the story of the series. As a player with a previous All-Star appearance, it would be hyperbole to say Holiday's performance in the series is entirely unexpected, but the level to which he, along with Rajon Rondo, have outplayed Portland's backcourt has been been the main factor in the Pelicans taking the first two games at the Moda Center. “As I’ve said before, Jrue Holiday and Rajon Rondo are exceptional defensive point guards," said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. "They’ve made a concerted effort to blitz and double team our pick and rolls and get the ball out of their hands. It’s nothing that we haven’t seen before, they’re just doing a good job with it."If the Trail Blazers are to win Game 3, let alone the series, they'll have to figure out a way to deal with Holiday's defense on CJ McCollum and, particularly, Damian Lillard, who is averaging just 17.5 points on 32 percent shooting from the field and 31 percent shooting from three in the first two games of the series. Those percentages have been even worse when Holiday is guarding Lillard, as he held him to 0-8 shooting when the two were matched up in Game 2. "Just expected more out of myself," said Lillard after going 7-of-18 for 17 points while committing seven turnovers in Game 2. "Coming into the playoffs, you know teams are going to lock in and they’re going to try to make the game hard for you. I give a lot of credit to them for executing their game plan, seeing two and three guys and making the difficult, but the opportunities that I do get, I’ve just got to be better. I think it’s as simple as that."While it's hard to find much reason for optimism after losing homecourt and facing a 0-2 deficit, the Trail Blazers did win their last game in New Orleans 107-103 on March 27. In a game both teams needed to win at the time in order to secure playoff position, Lillard scored 41 points, 20 in the fourth quarter, on 55 percent shooting to all but will the team to victory. They'll need something similar out of the three-time All-Star if they're to take the first step to making this a competitive series. “Well we’ve got to win two games in New Orleans, so hopefully it’s the next two," said Stotts. "It’s easy math, we’ve got to go win two New Orleans and I feel we’re very capable of winning both games. Both games have been very tight, New Orleans has made the plays to win the games in the end, but that’s what makes a playoff series great."Game 3 can be seen locally on NBC Sports Northwest with Kevin Calabro, Lamar Hurd and Brooke Olzendam, with the pregame show starting at 4:30 p.m. Scott Lynn will have the call on Rip City Radio 620 AM.