The last time these two teams met, just about two weeks ago in Charlotte, the Blazers got blown out by 22 points. This game on Blazers home turf was a much different affair. The crowd gave a warm cheer as former Blazer Nic Batum was introduced in Charlotte's starting line up. Nic looked pretty good, as a matter of fact, and it was hard not to miss his smooth French moves out there on the court. But the Blazers looked better, serving up one of their more decisive wins of the season, a no-contest smackdown, 115-98.
Both teams started out slowly, though Nic Batum seemed happy to be back on his old stomping grounds and racked up a couple of sweet three pointers in the first quarter. Observant fans would notice that Noah Vonleh, the principal player the Blazers got in return for the Batum trade, was not playing particularly well. Vonleh did end up pulling down an impressive 10 rebounds in this game, but he's still a work in progress.
Portland took control of things after the first quarter and to be honest it wasn't a very suspenseful game. But that's okay so long as the Blazers are playing well and winning. Allen Crabbe scored 21 points, adding another to his string of hot games off the bench. Here's a shot of the Blazer dancers getting ready to take the floor during one of the breaks:
The Blazers held a 56-50 lead at halftime. Would things collapse in the third quarter as they sometimes have in the past? Fans pondered this question as they wandered the halls. Here's what some of them looked like:
A father and son!
Two awesome gals:
This couple lives here in Portland but, strangely, have chosen to root for Charlotte. He said he proposed to her in Charlotte. She said "yes"!
Nice commitment, dude:
Lillard and CJ came out popping in the third quarter, as did the aforementioned Allen Crabbe. The Hornets didn't even know what hit them as the Blazers began to pour in the buckets. The Blazer lead ballooned to as many as 22 points and soon enough we had an actual blowout on our hands. Charlotte isn't an elite team, but they aren't bad either, and this year's Blazers have rarely been able to stomp the opposition into the ground like this, so this easy win was a welcome sight.
Meyers Leonard continues to frustrate fans with his erratic, foul plagued play, but he did score 12 points, and deep bench guys like Pat Connoughton also saw significant minutes. Don't look now, but the Blazers have now won 4 out of their last 5 games.
The mood in the locker room afterwards was relaxed and cautiously optimistic. CJ McCollum walked in with a thumping boom box and Damian Lillard carefully inspected a shiny new edition of his signature Dame 3 sneakers. Reporters kept asking Allen Crabbe if he was doing anything different to inspire his new level of play. "No," he said casually. "Just keep doing my thing."
The Blazers have a few days off now and play Dallas at home on Friday. Dallas, like Charlotte, isn't a top team, but can still play good ball. If the Blazers can put together another strong win, we could be on the verge of another mid-season turnaround like last year. Let's hope!