The Portland Trail Blazers and Milwaukee Bucks stayed close most of the night, but the Bucks made a fourth-quarter run then held on tight for the victory. The Blazers showed some signs of life on defense, but gave up over 60 points in the second half anyway.
The Blazers were led by Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, but their teammates struggled to make consistent contributions.
First Half
What a first half from the Good Guys. The Blazers kept their defensive lulls to a minimum, and survived the Bucks’ hot shooting to maintain a small lead. Leonard’s three 3-pointers paced the Blazers, while Lillard scored 22 against the Bucks’ normally-hardened defense. The half ended on yet another “Lillard moment”, of course. Video below. All in all, a fun first half.
Portland Trail Blazers 58, Milwaukee Bucks 51
HIGHLIGHT: Harkless sneaks behind the defense for the fastbreak dunk. #RipCity https://t.co/CkvqUXfeqB
— CSN Northwest (@CSNNW) December 8, 2016
HIGHLIGHT: Aminu finds Davis for the two-handed stuff. #RipCity https://t.co/u4sRGwd90d
— CSN Northwest (@CSNNW) December 8, 2016
HIGHLIGHT: Crabbe, Leonard drill back-to-back threes. #RipCity https://t.co/Mf57OXht1g
— CSN Northwest (@CSNNW) December 8, 2016
HIGHLIGHT: Meyers Leonard catches fire from deep #RipCity #KaBoom https://t.co/IUxkBmN2R3
— CSN Northwest (@CSNNW) December 8, 2016
HIGHLIGHT: Lillard ends red-hot first half with a deep three pointer. #RipCity https://t.co/PhjEfRQY0w
— CSN Northwest (@CSNNW) December 8, 2016
Second Half
The Bucks weren’t going to simply roll over, and they pushed their way back into a tie shortly into the third quarter. Then it really went downhill. The Bucks hung 34 points on the wall in the third quarter alone, and soon the Blazers were staring at a double-figure deficit. The Blazers surged with a late 9-0 run to pull within 2 of Milwaukee with 4 minutes remaining. But Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks down the stretch, and held off the Blazers for the win.
HIGHLIGHT: Dame powers through the key, floats one in for two. #RipCity https://t.co/xgboWVP5qt
— CSN Northwest (@CSNNW) December 8, 2016
HIGHLIGHT:Blazers play hot potato, opening up CJ for the wide-open three! #RipCity https://t.co/bebTRdEhMP
— CSN Northwest (@CSNNW) December 8, 2016
HIGHLIGHT: Aminu with the filthy putback slam! #RipCity https://t.co/WjO7t0PnAh
— CSN Northwest (@CSNNW) December 8, 2016
What’s Next
The Blazers continue their five-game road trip tomorrow night in Memphis against the Mike Conley-less Grizzlies. But stay tuned tonight for more analysis of this game from Blazer’s Edge.