Blazers Get Second Road Win in Last 11 Tries

Sunday, March 01, 2015

Andrew R Tonry, GoLocalPDX Contributor

BLAZERS 110, KINGS 99

Behind the Blazers taking care of business against the lowly Kings in Sacramento, Sunday, creeps an important stat: it was Portland's second road win in 11 tries.

That's not to be slept on.

So perhaps Sunday's win in Sacramento was about more than simply beating an overmatched, lottery-bound opponent. The Blazers really do seem to be getting their groove back.

Besides futility on the road, Portland have jettisoned a handfull of monkeys off their back in the last week--they beat two Western Conference playoff contenders and tightened their Northwest Division lead.

It'll be worth keeping any eye on how the Blazers do away from Moda Center. A mid-March five-game trip will be a fine test.

And while in Sacramento, Sunday, the Kings were able to trim a double-digit lead to a single point, the outcome was never really in doubt. In the end, the Blazers won going away. The finish was marked by the return of "Lillard-time," another phenomena the Blazers haven't experienced in a while.

---

B	LaMarcus Aldridge With the Kings' Demarcus Cousins out, Aldridge was a man amongst boys on the frontline and for the most part, he feasted. Though his shot was a bit off, Aldridge still managed 26 points while pulling down a game-high 15 rebounds.
D	Nicolas Batum After putting together a string of solid performances, Batum returned to the poorhouse, Sunday. He got in foul trouble early and couldn't buy a bucket. He missed all four attempts from distance. He finished with a scant two points to go along with four boards and five assists.
B+	Robin Lopez Lopez too took advantage of the Kings' patchwork front court. He was hitting, netting 7-of-9 from the field to go with eight rebounds. He also gave Reggie Evans a wicked shove that resulted in a flagrant foul (see below).
A	Wesley Matthews Matthews didn't take a lot of shots, Sunday, but he made most of the ones he did take, including 3-of-5 from downtown and 6-of-8 overall. He finished with an efficient 17 points. Also worth noting: he began the game with a hand brace after banging it in Friday's game, but discarded it mid-game.
A	Damian Lillard As mentioned above, Lillard iced a game in the fourth quarter. It was his best three-point shooting performance in recent weeks (he made 3-of-5 tries). Lillard finished with a game-high 31 points, plus four boards and seven assists.