Portland Trail Blazers Rout Orlando Magic, Carmelo Injured, 118-103

Portland Trail Blazers defeated Orlando Magic tonight at Moda Center, 118-103. The hosts fulfilled expectations in the match in which they simply had to win. The event was also marked by Carmelo Anthony’s injury in the second period.

The 10-time All-Star hurt his knee while attempting a three-pointer in the second quarter. Melo limped off the floor and didn’t come back until the end. However, it was the Dynamic duo Lillard-McCollum who stepped and led the Blazers to a win, overcoming the state of shock after Melo’s accident. The Dame poured 36 buckets, CJ had 31, and both were unstoppable tonight.

“It feels good to feel like we’re ‘supposed’ to win the game. … It feels like we’re rolling. It’s not like crazy things are happening for us to win.”

It appears that the hosts, who won four out of the last five events, are slowly catching the rhythm. After a period of inconsistency during which Terry Stotts’ guys suffered some incredible losses against teams who aren’t anywhere near their level, things are looking much better for the Trail Blazers.

The match against the Magic was very important for them in terms of confidence. After a long time, the hosts had a chance to record a few solid results in a row, which they eventually did.

Right from the beginning, the Blazers started pounding. They would make a 15-0 run midway through the first to pull away to a safe distance, 24-9. It was one of the best defensive performances of the season for Stott’s crew, which allowed only 13 points in the opening 12 minutes. Orlando was 6 for 30 from the field in that sequence.

“Obviously, in the first quarter to get behind a team like that on the road, you are going to have to play a great three quarters to come back and win,’’ Magic coach Steve Clifford said. “We fought, and we’ll watch the film (to uncover the breakdowns). Again, we’re giving up too many fast-break points and there’s no question we’ve got to make open shots.’’

The Western Conference runners-up didn’t allow for the guests to have a chance for some comeback, and they firmly held the lead which was between 6 and 12 points until the break.

That would increase in the third quarter when hosts reached an 18-point edge at the end of that period, 93-75. In the end, it was routine business for the Trail Blazers, to preserve that edge and to close this contest.

Lillard was shooting 7 for 13 from behind the three-point line, collecting 36 buckets with 6 assists. McCollum, on the other hand, woke up, delivering 31 points and 8 boards.

As usual, Hassan Whiteside was very dominant in the paint, with 10 points and 17 rebounds. But not only that, the Young as the fans call him, had 5 blocks tonight.

The Magic finished their tour through the West and in four matches they’ve recorded just one win. That was against the New Orleans Pelicans at the start of this four-game road trip. Following that, the team from Florida lost in Utah, Denver and now Portland.

Nikola Vucevic scored 23 points with 12 rebounds tonight, Evan Fournier had 16, while DJ Augustin came off the bench and contributed with 17 buckets.

Orlando (12-17) now has two matches at home, the first against the Chicago Bulls this Monday, and after that against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Portland (13-16) plays against the Timberwolves on second of their back-to-back nights tomorrow, and meet the Pelicans on Monday night.