Lillard, McCollum Dominate As Blazers Win OpenerPortland 115, Toronto 102
At home, boasting new additions DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph and Luis Scola among others, the Raptors expected to steamroll the rebuilding Blazers in the season opener. However, they forgot to do one thing: defend.
As a team, Portland shot 15-for-32 from behind the arc (Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum were 9-13 combined), and the Raptors simply couldn't keep up with, or stop the onslaught. "I told the guys at halftime, these are professionals. You can't take them lightly. Don't get me wrong, they played very well, especially that McCollum kid, but clearly my guys didn't get the message", commented an aggravated Duane Casey after the game.
The first half was closely contested, with the Raps taking a 6 point lead early, before a pair of runs shifted momentum in the Blazers direction. Portland led 52-40 at one point before the Raps closed the gap to 4 at halftime. Despite some big plays by Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Lowry, the Raptors couldn't get the stops to take control in the third quarter, and Portland opened the fourth on fire. With Lillard on the bench and McCollum at the point, Portland put the game away early in the final period, as the Blazers ended up being able to play all 13 players en route to a 115-102 victory.
Damian Lillard was sensational with 32 points and 7 assists in just 29 minutes, not playing a minute of the fourth. McCollum was equally brilliant with 24 points and 5 assists on 9-12 shooting off the bench. New starters Gerald Henderson and Al-Farouq Aminu impressed in their "3-and-D" roles with 11 points apiece. When asked if Terry Stotts would consider starting McCollum, he said "C.J. was awesome tonight, but if something's working, I'm gonna keep doing it. I told him, sometimes you can do more in a sixth man role than off the bench, and I think he gets that."
This is a big win for the Trail Blazers, projected to be one of the worst teams in the league. While it's possible that this is a sign of positive things to come this season, it'll likely be one of the few highlights in an otherwise dreadful season.
JORDAN Player of the Game: Damian Lillard32 Points, 7 Assists, 3 Rebounds, 10-16 FG, 6-9 3pt, 6-6 FT, +10, 29 minutes
Anthony Bennett Award: Terrence Ross4 Points, 2-6 FG, -11