Hornets Fall Short to Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers snapped a seven game losing streak, defeating the Charlotte Hornets 125-116 on Friday. Damien Lillard’s 43 points were a huge factor in this decisive win.

Blazers coach Chauncey Billups believes Lillard’s game has benefitted from improved health. Lillard has been nursing an abdominal injury all season.

“I feel like he’s moving so much better,” Billups said. “A lot of his game is creating space. He’s not a 6-6 point guard and when you can shoot it that well, you have to create space. And I think lately since he’s been back he’s been able to do that.”

The Hornets could not stop the Blazers in the first quarter. They were on fire, scoring 41 points and going 6-of-9 from 3 point range. Damian Lillard, who has struggled all season, scored 17 points in the opening quarter and finished it off with a deep three in the final seconds of the quarter. The Hornets trailed by seventeen points, 41-24.

The sub-par defense continued in the second quarter. Hornets coach James Borrego called his second timeout just over three minutes into the period. The Blazers already had 53 points and made 19-of-30 field goals and 8-of-14 shots from downtown. The lead had sky rocketed to 28, 68-40, by the 4:54 mark of the quarter. The Blazers continued their hot shooting from beyond the arc, making 13-of-20 at that juncture. The Hornets trailed by 26 points, 81-55 at halftime. The Blazers made 16-of-25 3-pointers in the half.

The Hornets went on a 5-0 run to start the third quarter and it seemed like they would be poised to make a comeback, but Lillard put a stop to those plans, and took away what little hope they had of catching up.

The Hornets tried to make the game respectable by hitting 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions, to cut the deficit under 20. They got the score as close as 15, before taking a 17 point deficit into the final stanza, 103-86.

Charlotte continued to chip away at the lead, led by backup point guard Ish Smith, especially on the defensive end of the court. LaMelo Ball, in his first game back after being in the NBA’s health and safety protocols, had three straight drives to the hoop, to bring the Hornets within single digits. A Miles Bridges steal and a Kelly Oubre Jr. run out, got the Hornets as close as six. Bridges got his tenth assists of the game. Veteran Ben McLemore put the final nail in the coffin with a fading 3-pointer deep in the corner for the Blazers.

Damien Lillard scored a season-high 43 points, had 4 rebounds and 8 assists for the Blazers. Ben McLemore added 28 points, hitting six of his eight 3-pointers in the first half coming off the bench. Norman Powell had 14 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists.

LaMelo Ball had a team high 27 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists for the Hornets. “I felt good coming back,” Ball said. “The energy was cool. There’s going to be some stuff here and there but I’m still living. I’m straight. It was great coming back, touching the ball, it’s a blessing.”

Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 18 points, had 4 rebounds off the bench. P.J. Washington added 16 points and 5 rebounds also off the bench. Miles Bridges scored 14 points, with 6 boards and 11 dimes.

The Trail Blazers travel to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies on Sunday night. The Hornets play the first of a back to back Sunday in Phoenix against Chris Paul and the Suns.