Wild finish to Monday’s game between the Blazers and the Pelicans.
New Orleans had itself in position to win thanks to the play of Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis, who both made several key plays all night long, including in the game’s final period. But it was Tyreke Evans who drained the game-winner, a 15-footer with just over a second remaining that gave the Pelicans a 110-108 victory over a very good Blazers team.
We would be remiss, however, if we didn’t mention the shot from Damian Lillard that preceded it -- a long three that needed a couple of bounces on the rim before falling through the basket. Lillard has been making big-time clutch shots since he came into the league last season, and this one was no different. He increasingly has to pull up from well beyond the three-point arc in these situations to get his shot off, yet still has little trouble getting these attempts to go.
Davis defended LaMarcus Aldridge well all night long, and blocked his shot at least a couple of times. Aldridge is playing at a very high level this season, and Davis by no means shut him down. But his length and individual defense had proven to be good enough where it became curious to see Portland go to Aldridge in one-on-one isolations in two of the team’s final three offensive possessions. And not surprisingly, Aldridge came up empty trying to make some difficult shots over Davis.
It’s rare that the Blazers face a team that can match what they bring offensively. But Holiday and Davis were up to the task on this night, outplaying Lillard and Aldridge just enough to come away with the victory.