Henderson’s game-saving block, Lillard’s 41 lead Blazers to OT win
Discussion of the Portland Trail Blazers’ surprisingly strong season has centered on the contributions of two players — Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. That’s understandable and warranted, because they are the league’s top scoring duos and essential members of a team without many other capable creators. Yet the Blazers would not be in prime position to earn a playoff berth if not for the play of their many quality role players, most of whom joined the team this offseason. Their success isn’t just a matter of two guys scoring a bunch.
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Several players proved as much in Tuesday’s home game against the Washington Wizards, including on the single biggest play of the game. The Wizards had a chance to win in regulation with the game tied at 104-104 following a pull-up jumper from McCollum with five seconds on the clock. They created a good look in the paint for Marcin Gortat, but wing Gerald Henderson came out of nowhere to protect the rim:
John Wall got another chance to win at the buzzer off the rebound, but his three-pointer caught rim to send it to overtime.
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The block continued an excellent game for Henderson, who put up 12 points and seven rebounds with a plus-16 in his 30 minutes. (He was also part of a tussle that resulted in the ejection of Washington wing Alan Anderson.) Yet it’s arguable that he wasn’t even the Blazers’ best bench player on the night, because big man Ed Davis logged nine points, 15 rebounds (five offensive), and four assists in his 32 minutes.
It was fitting, then, that Henderson also picked up Portland’s first basket of overtime to tie it at 106-106, after which Lillard made a lay-up and three-pointer to open up a five-point lead. Wall answered back with a three-pointer at the 3:01 mark, but Washington missed it’s final five attempts of the night. The Blazers struggled, as well, but a few offensive rebounds allowed them to shorten the game. Plus, Lillard came up huge with 23 seconds remaining when he transcended excellent defense from Wall to finish a tough lay-in to push the lead to four. He later hit two free throws to finish with a game-high 41 points (12-of-25 FG, 6-of-13 3FG, 11-of-12 FT) and 11 assists.
The Blazers’ 116-109 win broke a tie with the Dallas Mavericks for the No. 6 spot in the West, a notable change considering the dominance of the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs at the top of the conference this season. Avoiding those teams would allow the Blazers a much better chance of winning a playoff series, although the mere fact that we’re discussing ideal seeding is a mark of how much they have accomplished already this season.
Meanwhile, Washington will rue the missed jumpers that led to the loss. The 30-33 Wizards are 2 1/2 games behind the Chicago Bulls for the East’s final playoff spot and sit two games behind the Detroit Pistons for No. 9. A playoff berth remains a distinct possibility but looks like a more challenging goal with every negative result.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
