Victor Oladipo, Pacers Hold off Carmelo Anthony, Blazers for 106-100 Win

The Portland Trail Blazers blew an opportunity to close the gap on the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference on Thursday, falling to the Indiana Pacers 106-100 a day after the Memphis Grizzlies were routed in Houston. 

With no Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum continued to run an offense that's had trouble keeping pace without its star guard available.

The Blazers (26-34) have dropped five of their last six contests and are now three games back of the Grizzlies, who own the league's second-hardest remaining schedule, per Tankathon. The Blazers, by contrast, rank 28th in strength of schedule remaining. 

Indiana (35-24) now moves to 3-1 since the All-Star break and received a major boost Thursday as Victor Oladipo returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games with a lower back injury. The team has still played things cautiously with its shooting guard as he comes back from knee surgery. Oladipo has played just nine games this season, though that's hardly mattered for Indiana.

The Pacers entered Thursday with a 7.5-game lead over seventh place in the Eastern Conference and a chance to lock up home-court advantage in the first round as the fifth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers navigate a barrage of injuries to their starting lineup and the fourth-seeded Miami Heat continue to struggle on the road. 

Notable Performers

• Domantas Sabonis, PF, Pacers: 20 points, 11 rebounds, four assists
• Malcolm Brogdon, PG, Pacers: 17 points, eight assists, six rebounds
• Victor Oladipo, SG, Pacers: 15 points, seven rebounds, two assists 
• CJ McCollum, SG, Trail Blazers: 28 points, eight assists, three rebounds
• Carmelo Anthony, PF, Trail Blazers: 12 points, seven rebounds 

Road Woes Plaguing Portland 

Make it five straight road losses for the Trail Blazers.

If Portland does miss the playoffs this season, then it'll be easy to point to the injuries suffered by Jusuf Nurkic, Zach Collins and Lillard as the biggest hindrances. But it'll be the Blazers' road record that speaks loudest.

After Thursday's loss, Portland is now 10-21 away from Moda Center this season. The last time it won on the road, Lillard dropped 48 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers faded late on Jan. 31. 

The Blazers could've used Lillard against Indiana, especially late in the game. After holding onto a nine-point lead early in the third quarter, Portland's offense went cold and found itself down 14 with seven minutes to play. 

The Blazers had four starters in double figures and clawed back with a 7-0 run to make it a three-point game with 30 seconds left, yet there was no Lillard to provide a clutch shot or big stop when the team needed it most. 

Instead, Portland continues its three-game road trip against the Atlanta Hawks, against whom it'll be looking to stop the losing streak and make up ground in the playoff race. Thursday was certainly a setback, but there is plenty of time to close the gap so long as the Blazers can piece things together long enough for their key players to get healthy.

While there's been plenty of hype surrounding a potential Nurkic return, no timetable has been put in place yet. Lillard is still expected to miss the next few games with a groin injury. There are 22 games left in Portland's regular season, including a six-game road trip at the end of March. 

The turning point for the Blazers' season is looming. 

Oladipo Adjusting to Game Speed 

Indiana's star guard tied his season high with 15 points on Thursday, going 5-of-9 from the field as he works his way back to full strength on the court. 

The biggest roadblock remains trying to play faster than his body will allow. 

"It's like I want to do it," Oladipo said after the victory on the TNT broadcast. "But my body is like, 'Hold up, wait a second.'"

The Pacers guard played 26 minutes and seemed at ease on the floor, but that may have been due to the fact his team didn't quite need him to take over the game as he's done in the past. 

While Oladipo was working on re-establishing his rhythm, Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon and Myles Turner were punishing Portland with ease late in the game. The trio combined for 51 points and 27 rebounds, and Turner delivered a dagger from behind the arc after Sabonis drew the defense into the paint. 

"

 Myles Denial 

: @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/4CuUw6FAZ8

— NBA (@NBA) February 28, 2020"

That's the type of luxury most teams can't give their best player. The Pacers can do so while defending their court against a desperate opponent. 

"We figured it out," Oladipo said. "We showed resilience tonight, and we're going to have to continue doing that throughout the year." 

That resilience is likely to propel the Pacers to home-court advantage in the first round if it keeps up. 

What's Next

Portland's three-game road trip continues to move east as it travels to Atlanta for a Saturday matchup against Trae Young and the Hawks before facing Orlando on Monday. The Pacers, meanwhile, begin a five-game road trip on Saturday with stops in Cleveland, San Antonio, Milwaukee, Chicago and Dallas on deck.