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Blazers cruise to 44-point rout of Nets
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Brooklyn Nets experienced an energy crisis. The Portland Trail Blazers enjoyed a surplus.
The result was the most one-sided victory for the Trail Blazers in more than two years.
Guard Mo Williams came off the bench for season highs in points (21) and rebounds (six) to go with seven assists as Portland blew out Brooklyn 124-80 Wednesday night at the Moda Center.
It was the largest margin of victory for Portland since a 112-68 rout of the Charlotte Bobcats on Feb. 1, 2012.
“I didn’t see that one coming,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said. “It was a good effort by everyone who played.”
Forward Nicolas Batum contributed 19 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Trail Blazers (40-18), who won for the fourth straight game. Reserve guard Will Barton also had a big night for the winners, finishing with a season-high 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Seven Blazers scored in double figures, including guard Damian Lillard with 14, forward Victor Claver with 13 and guard C.J. McCollum and center Robin Lopez with 11 apiece. The Portland bench accounted for a season-high 68 points.
“That’s a lot of points from the bench,” Batum said. “It was great the way they have stepped in the last couple of games with the guys we have injured. Will, C.J., Vic, Mo — they did their job tonight. That was a big part of the win.”
Portland never trailed from midway through the first quarter on and led by as many as 45 points.
“We came out with energy,” Williams said. “That set the tone for us, we never looked back.”
Guard Deron Williams led the Nets (26-29) with 12 points, and guard Joe Johnson added 11. The result tied the third-largest margin of defeat in franchise history.
Portland shot 53.5 percent from the field — including 41.9 percent (13 for 31) from 3-point range. Brooklyn shot 39.5 percent from the field and made only four of 22 3-point attempts (18.2 percent).
“We just had a lack of energy,” Brooklyn coach Jason Kidd said. “We didn’t make shots and kind of felt sorry for ourselves, which carried over to the defense end.”
When Portland jacked a 24-point halftime lead to 69-40 midway through the third quarter, the Nets’ starters were done for the night. The Blazers extended their advantage to 104-70 midway through the fourth period, and the difference grew to 45 points near game’s end.
“We lose like this, it’s just a complete lack of focus,” said Brooklyn forward Paul Pierce, who had only six points and four rebounds in 24 minutes. “No way should we lose by 40 with the guys we’ve got. We could have played against the Eastern Conference All-Stars, we shouldn’t lose by 40. We just didn’t show up tonight.”
Portland jumped to a 13-6 lead, but Brooklyn rallied to go ahead 16-15. The Blazers answered with a 10-0 run to go back on top 25-16, then carried a 29-20 advantage into the second quarter.
The edge was hiked to 35-22 before Portland closed the first half on a 13-0 run to take a 58-34 lead into intermission. Batum had 15 points, four rebounds and three assists; Barton 12 points, six rebounds and two assists and Mo Williams 11 points, five assists and four rebounds at the break. Portland shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, Brooklyn only 33.3 percent.
NOTES: Portland was both short and short-handed. Four of the team’s five big men were missing due to injury — starting F LaMarcus Aldridge (groin), backup F Thomas Robinson (knee) and reserve centers Joel Freeland (knee) and Meyers Leonard (ankle). The only big man left standing was starting C Robin Lopez. … Portland yielded its lowest single-game point total of the season. … The last time Portland had two reserves score 20 or more points in a game was Dec. 12, 2007 (James Jones, Travis Outlaw) against the Golden State Warriors. … The Blazers are 20-3 this season when G Mo Williams scores in double figures. … Portland won the rebounding battle 53-29 after getting hammered 64-41 on the boards in a 100-95 win at Denver on Tuesday night. The Nuggets had 27 offensive rebounds in that one — 15 by former Blazers C J.J. Hickson.
