Pistons run out of gas against the Blazers

The visiting Detroit Pistons marched into the Rose Garden Saturday night for a matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers. Detroit was coming into the game more than 20 games below .500 and were without rising star Brandon Knight. Medford native Kyle Singler suited up the Pistons and got a warm response from the sold-out Rose Garden crowd. The Blazers were without one of their main bench contributors, Victor Claver, who was still recovering from an ankle injury.

Within the first ten minutes, the Blazers’ two-time all-star LaMarcus Aldridge managed to earn two fouls, prompting head coach Terry Stotts to sub in rookie forward Joel Freeland. Capitalizing on the opportunity, Freeland contributed eight points off the bench and was Portland’s leading scorer at the end of the first quarter.

“[I] Hustled, played hard and did the things I know how to do, and just let the game come to me,” Freeland said after the game.

Despite the boost from Freeland, Detroit closed out the first quarter up 30-24, shooting a remarkable 63.2 percent from the field as a team. The dismal defensive effort by Portland continued through the second quarter, and the Pistons rolled into the locker room at the halfway mark with a five-point lead. The Blazers fared no better from the offensive end, shooting just 44 percent.

Portland managed to regroup and close the gap after halftime, trading the lead throughout the third quarter. During one critical stretch, Nicolas Batum swooped into for a block on Singler to give the Blazers possession, a sequence that was then capped off with an emphatic dunk by center J.J. Hickson to shift the momentum in Portland’s favor and force a Piston timeout. Portland finished the third with new life and a 77-75 lead, with four Blazers in double digits and two already approaching double-doubles.

The Blazers extended their lead to nine in the fourth quarter on the strength of improved defense and 17 second-chance points, compared to six by the Pistons. With five minutes left in the game, Batum came up with another huge block and Wesley Matthews followed it with a dagger of a three-pointer. Not to be outdone, Hickson threw down a dunk on the next Blazer possession that seemed to kill Detroit’s hopes for good, and Portland earned a 112-101 victory.

The win keeps the Blazers’ playoff hopes alive for another day, while the Pistons lost their eighth game in a row. Portland got another solid performance from Aldridge, who finished with 31 points and 12 rebounds. “[Aldridge was] remarkable—he had it going,” Stotts said.

Hickson tallied his 37th double-double of the year, which puts him tied for third in the NBA. Batum posted the kind of diverse stat line that has been his calling card all season, scoring 17 points to go along with six assists, five rebounds and three blocked shots.

“You know, that’s my job—that’s what I try to do,” Batum said. “I try to rebound, assist, get points, block shots, steal and be everywhere.”

The Blazer’s now move on to a weeklong road trip—including four games against teams in the playoff picture—before returning home to play the Brooklyn Nets on March 27.

“We have a tough schedule, and this road trip is going to be difficult, but we’re still in the mix and we have got to get a win,” Stotts said. “[We need] to play better on the road, which is tough for everybody, and we need to have longer stretches of better defense.”

“We’re right there,” Aldridge added. “If we take care of business, then anything is possible.”