Portland Trail Blazers hold off a late surge to beat Philadelphia 76ers 107-103 – NBA Recap
On the second day of the NBA season, Philadelphia 76ers headed to the Rose Bowl to take on the Portland Trail Blazers in a game that witnessed two teams who are eagerly trying to build on their playoff appearances last season.
The game turned out to be a thriller. The host had the better of the Sixers throughout, but a late charge nearly knocked them over. It was however not to be and the Trail Blazers held on to a 107-103 win.
Trail Blazers made the initial impact, starting off with a 12-4 run. The Sixers responded swiftly but after Jrue Holiday knocked down a pull up jumper to make it 16-10, LaMarcus Aldridge made consecutive baskets from within the
arc to five the host a double digit lead at 20-10. After Andre Iguodala made a three on the ensuing possession, he replied with a turnaround fade away shot and was followed by consecutive jumper from Raymond Felton and Kurt Thomas to make it 26-13.
Evan Turner drilled a jumper from the other end and Portland missed the next three attempts from the floor to end the first quarter at 26-15.
The Sixers made a swift comeback early in the second quarter and courtesy a 12-5 burst they closed within 4 at 27-31. Nearly a minute later Thaddeus Young made a jumper and Turner followed up with another two to make it 31-33.
The Trail Blazers however raced away to another 11-4 run in the next few minutes to carve out a 44-35 lead. The Sixers responded with a 9-4 run though and ended the first half trailing by 44-48.
The third quarter turned out to be a scoring fest. The Trail Blazers outscored the visitors 29-28 in the frame and the game headed into the final 12 minutes with five points separating the two teams, 77-72.
Young made a jumper inside the first minute to make it a three point game, but Gerald Wallace and new acquisition Jordan Crawford keyed a 15-3 to give the hosts a 92-77 lead with 7:35 left on the clock. Both scored 5 points in
the run. The game looked done and dusted at that moment and when Nicolas Batum knocked down a three midway through the quarter, it seemed that Portland will blaze to a win.
However, the Sixers still has some fight left in them. With the scores at 98-84 and nearly four minutes to go, Holiday made a three to start a three point barrage. Felton made two free throws for the Trail Blazers on the next possession,
which was followed with two consecutive downtown strikes by Iguodala to make it 93-100.
This was where Louis Williams who started off the bench took over.
He started with a jumper and after a Felton jumper he slipped in a layup to make it 97-103. Felton missed a layup on the other side and the ball again found its way into Williams’ hand. A three pointer followed and with 16.9 seconds
left, when Williams made another 3 to make it 103-105, the game looked set for a change in direction.
Felton drew a foul on Holiday on the next play, but managed only one of two, leaving a door open for the Sixers. Iguodala however missed the shot from the long range and the game slipped away.
Aldridge led the Trail Blazers with 25 points and seven rebounds while Gerald Wallace had 21 points and 9 rebounds. For the Sixers, Louis Williams pounded 25 and Iguodala netted 21.
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