Blazers Put Together Complete Game, Win Against Lillard and Bucks

The Portland Trail Blazers, in their one and only nationally televised game of the season, defeated the red-hot Milwaukee Bucks at Moda Center on Tuesday night behind big games from Deni Avdija, Deandre Ayton, and Anfernee Simons. The Blazers have had a few good wins this year, but the victory tonight might have been their most complete game of the season.

For the second straight year, the return of Damian Lillard to Portland was spoiled by a Blazers win. Lillard finished with 20 points, but the Blazers seem to have the answer for Dame Time. Head Coach Chauncey Billups deployed an eight-man rotation and treated this like a playoff game. Avdija was aggressive and the Blazers as a team went 12-28 (43%) from the three-point arc, a big reason why they blew out the Bucks down the stretch.

The Blazers did a lot of things right in this game, so let’s take a dive into five points of analysis.

MVP

The game has been over for about an hour, and Deni Avdija is still drawing fouls on the Milwaukee Bucks. Avdija is my MVP of the game, and it was mainly due to him earning free throws as he attacked the rim with force. The Bucks were playing shorthanded at the forward position, so the goal early on should have been to get them in foul trouble. Most of the time this is easier said than done, but Avdija understood the assignment and took it to his defender every time he had the ball at the top of the key. Taurean Prince and Kris Middleton were victims and it put the Bucks in a tough spot as the game went on.

Avdija poured in 30 points and led all Blazers in scoring. His ability to shift his body while driving to the hoop and finish at the rim is rare. It was on full display tonight. If you’re going to be successful against the Bucks, you have to be able to apply pressure on Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez. Avdija accomplished that. The long ball was falling as well. Going 3-7 from deep opened up the lane.

Engaged Ayton

Deandre Ayton is usually the difference-maker for the Blazers when it comes down to wins and losses. When he is engaged, the Blazers are a different team. Most of the season he has been sleepwalking through games, but tonight he saw blood in the water with Giannis across the floor from him. Their “rivalry” goes back to the 2021 NBA Finals when the Bucks matched up against Ayton and the Phoenix Suns. In those Finals, Giannis destroyed Ayton. Since then, you can tell Ayton wants payback.

Ayton started tonight going 3-3 from the field and rebounding at a high rate. His defense in the paint slowed down the other Bucks too. Giannis scored a game-high 39 points, but most of those were off of put-backs or drives to the lane in transition when Ayton wasn’t guarding him.

The nail in the coffin play happened with 4:55 left in the game. Toumani Camara drove to the rim and threw down a dunk on Giannis. What you may not have noticed was Ayton battling Giannis down low in order to free up the lane for Camara. It was those little things that Ayton hasn’t been doing for most of the year. Ayton would finish with 21 points, 14 rebounds, and a team high +/- of +15.

Fast Break Points

The Blazers won this game in transition. Giannis and the Bucks thrive when they can get into the open court. Antetokounmpo is unstoppable with a head of steam and the Bucks have shooters all over the court. The Blazers ran back on defense and did a great job of stopping the ball. On the offensive end, Portland pushed the ball and looked for their own open shooters in the corners.

Portland also finished strong at the rim. With 9:10 remaining in the fourth quarter, Donovan Clingan blocked Lopez. That led to Shaedon Sharpe getting out in transition. He made a no-hesitation move to the hoop. Although it ended with a miss, Avdija was there to clean it up. The Blazers would outscore the Bucks 15-13 in fast break points. Holding Milwaukee to only 13 points was most impressive.

Dribble Penetration

Portland shot 43% from distance against the Bucks. This was possible because of dribble penetration. The Blazers have good shooters, but they haven’t been able to get clean looks at the hoop. Led by Avdija, the Blazers were able to get into the paint and kick out to open shooters. Rip City knows all too well the defensive liability inherent in Dame. Portland attacked him most of the night.

Sharpe benefited the most from dribble penetration. His 11 points in the first quarter were all due to drives. Those came in the fashion of dunk, step back jumper, corner three, layup, and free throws. Sharpe came off the bench and scored 17. He was essential in the win.

Cleaning the Glass

Portland outrebounded the Bucks 52-36 with 17 offensive rebounds. As the saying goes, rebounding is key and tonight that couldn’t have been more true. The Blazers pulled Giannis away from the rim, and that allowed the team to bring in those 17 offensive rebounds which gave the Blazers precious second chance points. Portland has been in the top five of the NBA in offensive rebounding, and that has mainly been due to the fact that they miss a lot of shots… But tonight it was intentional. After you get past Lopez and Giannis, the Bucks are not big or physical. Portland is one of the tallest teams in the NBA, so winning the rebounding battle was necessary if Rip City was going to get the win.