Blazers Buckle Down After Halftime In Blowout Win Over Pistons

A dominant second half propelled Portland to its fourth straight win and a perfect road trip.

Notes, analysis, observations and clips from the Portland Trail Blazers' 124-101 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.

• Portland began pulling away from Detroit in the first few minutes of the third quarter, turning a three-point deficit into a 12-point lead. Damian Lillard, shocker, set the tone for the Blazers, attacking with renewed vigor en route to 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting during his team's crucial 17-2 run. But Portland's sleepy defense awoke, too, rotating and communicating with intensity and togetherness that proved far too lacking in the game's first 24 minutes. Norman Powell drew two offensive fouls; Jusuf Nurkic zoned up behind the play for a steal; and Lillard notched a deflection and pasing-lane steal of his own. The Blazers didn't sustain that level of effectiveness defensively after their run was over, but still played with enough verve to make life harder on the Pistons than it was early. This possession from the third quarter, featuring multiple switches and multiple efforts from the second unit plus Lillard, was one of Portland's most impressive of the season.

• Lillard fended off physical Detroit defense to drop 33 points and 10 assists. Ho-hum. His typically stellar performance was almost cut short early, though, when he came up limp early in the third quarter, favoring that balky left knee after getting tangled up with Mason Plumlee. Lillard shook off the pain moments later to continue spearheading the Blazers' run, finishing a tough finger roll that came off his left leg – a positive sign. He seemed no worse for wear over the game's remainder, either. But after he missed last week's game against the Orlando Magic with nagging knee discomfort, Lillard's health is clearly something to continue monitor going forward. He'll surely need some serious treatment between now and Friday night.
• Norman Powell wasn't a focal point of the Blazers' offense, regularly standing in the corner as Lillard and C.J. McCollum played alpha dog. He can function well playing a more primary offensive role, obviously, but what makes Powell so valuable to Portland is that he can consistently impact the game on that end in a supporting one. He was a one-man transition engine against Detroit, on several occasions grabbing long defensive rebounds and pushing the ball down the Pistons' throat. The result was never especially damaging even when Powell didn't score or get to the free throw line. He wants to shoot first and shoot fast, of course, but is fully capable of pulling back the reins and waiting for teammates when he doesn't have winnable numbers in the open floor. It'll take awhile, maybe too long, for Powell to get comfortable playing with Lillard and McCollum in the halfcourt. But the Blazers are already really feeling Powell's presence in transition.

• The Blazers' first-half defense, to put it mildly, was a problem. The Pistons got whatever they wanted in the halfcourt, feasting on Portland's utter lack of synergy at the point of attack and behind it. Jerami Grant proved unstoppable as a one-on-one scorer, but also did plenty of damage picking out wide-open cutters when he drew multiple defenders to the ball. The Blazers were beaten backdoor way too easily, with Lillard often the culprit – an increasing trend as the season's worn on. When they briefly pulled out the 2-3 zone, they were sometimes confused enough to resort to finger-pointing after uncontested Detroit scores. Portland had legitimate excuses: the ongoing integration of Powell, managing the contrasting styles of Nurkic and Enes Kanter, the fact this game ended a week-long road trip. But as ramped up as the Blazers' defense was in the second half, it was bad enough before intermission to remind of just how far they have to go on that side of the ball before the playoffs.

• Robert Covington had 16 points, four triples and three steals, and wreaked havoc defensively in the second half with a handful of deflections. He took the challenge of checking Grant head on, too, pressuring his dribble near halfcourt and making him work to crease the paint. Covington was a game-high +22 on Wednesday, and it showed. 
• Nurkic is clearly still getting comfortable after 10 weeks away, especially offensively. He was a bit too ambitious with the ball at times on Wednesday, but Portland will live with that given the dynamic his high-post playmaking provides its offense. Nurkic finished with four assists against the Pistons, a number that would have been higher if his teammates had capitalized on every perfectly-placed backdoor lob or bounce pass. The Blazers can only get so varied offensively given the magnified strengths and weaknesses of their personnel; the additional wrinkle Nurkic's passing provides is hugely important.

Next up: at home versus Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, 7:00 p.m. (PST)