Despite Sloppy Start Blazers Win Eighth Straight

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Monday, November 24, 2014

BLAZERS 114, 76ERS 104

THAT WAS: A bit of deja vu. Just as on Sunday in Boston, the Blazers got off to a sloppy, somewhat sluggish start Monday in Philadelphia. And just like on Sunday, Portland woke up and finally dusted the inferior opponent.

As it was their second such lagging effort against the NBA's Eastern Conference cellar--the winless 76ers being the absolute nadir--it's fair to suggest Portland struggle getting their competitive juices flowing against supposed pushovers. But, again, they caught themselves as the game went on.

No example illustrates the early-late disparity in focus as do turnovers, which plagued Portland in the early going. The Blazers gave away 12 before halftime. After intermission they were responsible for only three more. 

Despite the tightning, Monday's performance was relatively uninspired. The 76ers are an aboinantion. As Steve Blake put it afterwards, the game was "too close for comfort."

BUT WHEN IT RAINED: It poured. Once the damn broke Portland rode the wave. The Blazers scored a staggering 39 points in the third quarter and made the Sixers look as silly and as discombobulated as their now-14-straight losses would suggest. Take, for instance, this highlight, where Damian Lillard is left so open on the three-point line as to cook rice:

SAVING GRACE: Portland owned the glass. While turnovers clipped the Blazers in the first half they hung around by crashing the boards. Portland out-rebounded Philadelphia a whopping 52-to-29.

MVP: LaMarcus Aldridge. All night Aldridge's shot was falling, particularly in the game-breaking third quarter, where he scored 15 of his season-high 33. Portland's All-Star power forward added 11 rebounds and three assists to boot. 

WORTH NOTING: Joel Freeland's furious second quarter. In the span of seven minutes Freeland scored nine points, good for a season high and, as his mid-range jumper was falling, one of his more promising stints as a Blazer.

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