Trail Blazers End Their Losing Streak
The Portland Trail Blazers have ended a losing streak of five games, securing their first victory when they defeated the Miami Heat with a final score of 102 – 95. The triumph took place in front of a sellout crowd 19,600 strong on Wednesday night, at the American Airlines Arena.
Five Losses in a Row is Tough for Anybody
As punters who engage in the sports betting NZ and the rest of the world offers will be quick to confirm, five losses in a row is hard, says Damian Lillard. He added that the team need a win in order to start going back in the right direction. He said that the game wasn’t one where the team came out and every shot was made and everything went as it should. The Trail Blazers had to work hard for the win, he said, and added that this is usually how things go when you are trying to change direction.
Their Winning Streak Against the Heat Extended Too
The Trail Blazers now stand with a score of 14 – 13 overall, and 7 – 5 on the road for this season. This victory did not just end their five-game losing streak, either: it has also extended their winning streak against the Heat to four games, making it one of their greatest moments of the season so far.
A Great Game by Both Teams
In what has become a familiar site for the team so far, the Trail Blazers were facing a double-digit deficit early on. They were behind 15 points on percent 5-of-5 three-point shooting from Wayne Ellington, Josh Richardson’s 11 points, and the team turning the ball over a total of six times for 11 points to the Heat. Portland entered the second quarter trailing behind with a score of 33 – 21.
The turnovers got cleaned up by the Trail Blazers in the game’s second quarter, and they started shooting better than 50% from both the field and the three. Miami got better too, though, going 11-of-17 from the field in the quarter. While they were able to turn the Heat turnovers, leading to ten points, the Trail Blazers were still trailing 60 – 50 as they headed into intermission.
The Trail Blazers cleaned up the turnovers in the second quarter and shot better than 50 percent from both the field and from three, but Miami was even better, going 11-of-17 from the field in the quarter. Even though they were able to turn seven Heat turnovers leading to 10 points, the Trail Blazers still went into the intermission trailing 60-50.
Portland’s defense stiffened up considerably in the second half, however. While they trailed by 16 points in the third quarter, the Trail Blazers managed to pull off their victory by holding the Heat to 35 points in the game’s second half, and then outscoring their opponents with 32 – 16 in the four quarter.
Terry Stotts, head coach for the Trail Blazers, stated that it was difficult to evaluate thanks to how Ellington got off, but added that the team limited him to three shot-attempts in the game’s second half, and the one that he did make was well contested. He finished off by saying that the team had good presence on the rim, pursued pick and rolls, and did well in terms of rebounding.
