Blazers Hold Off Hungry Pelicans for 50th Win

Saturday, April 04, 2015

Andrew R Tonry, GoLocalPDX Contributor

BLAZERS 99, PELICANS 90

With less than eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter the Blazers were behind, 81-77.

Then, in this game of runs, it was Portland's turn.

From then on out the Blazers outscored the New Orleans Pelicans 22-9. They won going away, 99-90.

During that stretch Portland got offensive contributions from the usual suspects, LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard and Nicolas Batum. One player, however, stood out.

Usually on the bench at the end of games, Chris Kaman got the nod against the Pelicans. And my, did he produce.

In the game's closing minutes Kaman was a part of numerous plays the sealed the victory for the Trail Blazers, including a block, a steal, three rebounds (one of which was offensive) and four points as well as stellar defense on Anthony Davis.

That Kaman's best game of the season came against the Pelicans, however, may not be such a surprise:

Chris Kaman has tied a season high with 16 points. Three of his seven games with 15+ points have come against the Pelicans. #PORvsNOP
— Trail Blazers PR (@TrailBlazersPR) April 5, 2015

Kaman, who grabbed 11 rebounds to go along with a season-high 16 points, helped the Blazers clean the glass along with Aldridge (12 boards) and Robin Lopez (12).

Portland out-rebounded New Orleans a staggering 51-to-35. The Blazers' 18 offensive rebounds were a season-high.

Saturday's was Portland's 50th win of the season, the 13th time the team has hit such a mark in franchise history.

But Saturday's triumph was worthwhile, too, for reasons all its own: in the Pelicans, the Blazers beat a team that's fighting for its playoff life. A win would've pushed New Orleans ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder and into the eighth seed in the Western Conference.

The Blazers, though, had other plans.

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B+	LaMarcus Aldridge Although Aldridge had his shot blocked twice, he got the better of lengthy wunderkind Anthony Davis. Aldridge scored 21 points and, perhaps more importantly, snagged 12 rebounds.
C-	Nicolas Batum Batum made only one of the four field goals he took, Saturday, but it was a big one--a three that helped ignite Portland's game-ending run. Still, it was another one of those games where Batum was just too quiet.
B-	Robin Lopez Lopez's 12 rebounds tied a season-high. And with Anthony Davis on the court, that's nothing to scoff at. In +/-, Lopez logged a pitiful -20, though I find the stat largely misleading. As far as I'm concerned, he was effective, Saturday.
D	Arron Afflalo Another stinker for Afflalo, who couldn't score nor stop his opponents. Tyreke Evans had a field day with 21 points and nine assists. Afflalo, meanwhile, managed just five points and two assists.
C-	Damian Lillard Lillard missed all of his three thee-point attempts, and failed to get his rebound (1) or assist (4) totals up. He also had a tough time with Eric Gordon, who scored 22. But Lillard did manage to find his offense while attacking the basket late in the game.
A	Chris Kaman Among Kaman's best performances as a Blazer, and particularly noteworthy as he played and produced down the stretch. His 16 points tied a season-high. And of his 11 rebounds, six came on the offensive end.