Portland won a game it was supposed to, but that didn’t make it any less important.
The Portland Trail Blazers entered Sunday afternoon as a significant favorite against the Washington Wizards, and at a time when the team is shorthanded and badly needs wins, they took care of business with a 123-88 blowout victory.
Portland came out sharp from the opening tip, building a 24-15 lead after the first quarter, carrying a double-digit advantage into halftime at 58-47, and then completely burying Washington with a 33-19 third quarter. By the end of it, the Blazers had led by as many as 39 points in a game that was never really in doubt.
The biggest storyline was the math from beyond the arc. Washington went just 5-of-22 from three-point range, while Portland was not exactly lights-out at 12-of-36, but making seven more triples than your opponent tends to go a long way toward deciding a game.
The Blazers were also better virtually everywhere else. They shot more efficiently inside the arc, made more free throws, won the rebounding battle, recorded more blocks and steals, and finished with advantages in points off turnovers, second-chance points, and fast-break points.
That’s what happens when one team executes across the board and dominates every major facet of the game. In a matchup with this kind of talent gap, plus execution, this is generally what the result looks like.
Individually, a number of players filled it up in the blowout. Toumani Camara led the way with 23 points, Scoot Henderson added 21, and Deni Avdija chipped in 20. Portland had 12 different players score, which speaks to both the balance and the comfortable nature of the win. The victory pushed the Blazers to 38-38 on the season.
From here, Portland gets a day off and a travel day before heading to LA to take on the Clippers on Monday night at Intuit Dome.