Blazers Flirt With Record Books, Annihilate Nuggets
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
BLAZERS 130, NUGGETS 113
Piling up an astonishing 84 points by halftime, Portland got their first road win of the season. It was an even bigger blowout than the final score suggests.
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COMING OUT HOT: For the third time in four games Portland scored 30-plus points in the opening quarter. But after dropping 39 on Denver, Wednesday, the Blazers were just getting started. They poured in a staggering 45 more in the second.
RECORD BOOKS: Portland's 45 point outburst tied the franchise record for most points scored in a second quarter--a record that was originally set back in 1975. The 84 point first half came just two points shy of the franchise best, and were the most any NBA team has put up since Golden State had 84 in 2011.
MVP: Damian Lillard. In Denver, Tuesday, Lillard made 10-of-16 attempts from the field and a dead-eyed five-of-fix from deep. He finished with 27 points, nine assists, five rebounds and a steal.
Indeed, after beginning the year in a bit of a slump, Lillard now seemingly can't miss. In the last two nights Portland's All-Star point guard has made an impressive 22-of-37 attempts (59%). He's been even better from distance, making 10-of-his-last-16 tries from behind the arc (62%). The only unsightly stat from Lillard's stellar back-to-back are the 10 combined turnovers. But hey, nobody's perfect.
GRAVY TRAIN HIGHLIGHT: Lillard scores nine points in :43 seconds. Late in the third quarter, Lillard went wild, drilling three straight three's. In a late-game situation--sans fouling and timeouts--it's about as prolific an outburst as you'll ever see in a such a short time.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The Nuggets are atrocious. And for Portland, who'll see the Northwest Division foes two more times this year, that's gravy--especially because, what with the thin air, Denver has been a difficult place to play in recent years.
KILLER TWEETS:
The Nuggets are so bad that I just Googled to see when they play the Lakers.
— nicholas nanpei (@NNanpei) November 13, 2014
*LeBron throws his keys to the valet* "Go ahead and crash it into a river, it's a Kia."
— Ian Karmel (@IanKarmel) November 13, 2014
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