Game 68: Portland Trail Blazers 110, Sacramento Kings 94

The Sacramento Kings billed tonight’s match up between the Portland Trailblazers as the epic battle to the death between Roy and [future] R.O.Y., Tyreke Evans.  A nice play on words and acronyms, but the fun for the Kings stopped there as the Blazers came into Sacramento and dominated the Kings practically from the tip. For the second night  in a row, the Blazers scored 110 points, while holding the Kings to just 94.

Aside from the annoying (read: soul-shattering) KGW 8 broadcasting issues that plagued the first half, the game was enjoyable and stress free to watch, something many of us Blazer fans haven’t felt for tens of games. 

We even got to see the first minutes from the newest Trail Blazer Travis Diener, who ran around aimlessly and had an assist in the closing minutes of the game. Standing Ovation from the traveling Blazermaniacs was most assuredly in honor of his dazzling performance.

Mike Barrett remarked that the Blazers are “peaking at the right time,” insinuating that the team is operating efficiently, beating easy teams with relative ease and maintaining position in the playoff hunt. This is indeed the case as the Blazers are now within 1 game of the Phoenix Suns who lost tonight to the Los Angeles Lakers.

It goes without saying that these are the teams the Blazers should be crushing by 20 points. To see the Blazers actually do that, on the road and on a second of a back to back  no less, is very encouraging. 

The team shot 51 percent from the field, 56 percent from the three-point line and only turned the ball over 10 times.  They played tight and right on defense and appeared to be a team about their business—exactly the attitude to assume at this crucial point in the season.

Brandon Roy once again went off, scoring 28 points on 10-13 shooting in 35 minutes. He also shot 100 percent from the three-point line (2-2) and got the offense rolling to start the game, putting Sacramento’s defense back on their heels.  Roy finished with 4 assists and 3 rebounds and sat out much of the last five minutes as it was really clear by then that the Blazers wouldn’t lose the game. 

With Brandon Roy handling the offense for much of the first half, LaMarcus Aldridge stepped up again in the second half, ending the game having scored 18 points and corralled 6 rebounds.  His defense and position in the post on offense were key as well, as he once again played well alongside Marcus Camby.

Although he logged a mediocre performance last night against the Warriors, Aldridge played more characteristically tonight with confidence and authority. 

Nicolas Batum racked up 11 points, pulled down 3 rebounds, was once again fantastic on defense. He even had 2 assists, the man can do it all (kidding, sort of)! Other notable performances came from Andre Miller and Jerryd Bayless, scoring 15 and 10 respectively.

Bayless’ most exciting play came milliseconds before the first quarter buzzer sounded, as he drew just enough contact on a desperation half court heave to get the foul and drain 3 free throws with .1 second left in the quarter. I can’t decide if that was a crafty veteran move by the maturing Bayless or just a dumb play by Sacramento defenders. 

Rudy Fernandez thinks he’s playing better and he now has some points to back that up. Fernandez hit a couple key three pointers tonight, seemed less errant on defense and reaffirmed that planting his feet to shoot is his key to success. He finished with 10 points and 1 rebound in 26 minutes.

What is more concerning however is Fernandez’ increasingly frequent propensity to dribble erratically under the basket and uncontrollably fling it to anyone (?) on the perimeter, no doubt hoping they'll save his pitiful attempt to take some D leaguer off the dribble. 

The Kings had one hope to win this game: Tyreke Evans. The man is truly a pleasure to watch and displays night in and night out why he’s the favorite to win Rookie of the Year honors. Tonight however he struggled to get a rhythm established early and had trouble getting easy shots. He had only 10 points on 12 attempts and had 5 turnovers. Tonight was not Reke’s night, but he’s still my favorite non-Blazer. 

All jokes and criticism aside, tonight’s win was a refreshing reminder of how good this team is with a relatively healthy rotation. Next up, the Blazers take on the Toronto Raptors, Sunday night back at the Rose Garden.

Sophia Brugato | Twitter: @sophiabiabia | s.brugato(at)gmail(dot)com