The Portland Trail Blazers were given a sneak peak at what life will be like without Evan Turner the next five or six weeks.
And the view wasn’t so good.
The Boston Celtics overcame an ice cold start and double-digit first-half deficit to defeat the Blazers 120-111 at the Moda Center.
Isaiah Thomas shook off a shaky start to score 34 points — the 37th consecutive game he’s recorded at least 20 — and lead the Celtics (34-19) to their eighth win in the last nine games.
It was another bitter loss for the Blazers to swallow as they led by as many as 17 points in the first half and let a winnable game slip away from their fingertips. The Blazers (23-31) held the upper hand most of the first half as Thomas, the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Month, couldn’t buy a shot and the Celtics looked like they were still operating on East Coast time. But Thomas caught fire at the end of the half, making four late shots and scoring 10 points over the final two minutes, 32 seconds of the second quarter. The hot stretch helped the Celtics whittle a 17-point Blazers lead down to 55-49 at halftime.
When the Celtics opened the second half with a 10-2 run, the Blazers’ sizeable lead was gone and the game’s intrigue was on. Then the Celtics took control in the fourth quarter. Every time it looked like Blazers would mount a charge and perhaps take command, Kelly Olynyk would swish a three, Gerald Green would hammer home a monster rebound dunk or Thomas would slip through traffic and finish a tough driving layup.
Al-Farouq Aminu had his best game of the season, finishing with a season-high 26 points and five rebounds, and his clutch three-pointer and highlight-reel driving one-handed dunk along the baseline in the last half of the fourth quarter were key in helping the Blazers stay close.
But he had two late blunders that cost the Blazers dearly.
After making an impressive defensive stop on a baseline drive by Jaylen Brown, Aminu immediately fumbled the ball away heading the other way. The Celtics picked up the loose ball, passed the other way and Brown was fouled on a layup attempt. He made two free throws to give the Celtics a 108-104 lead with 2:10 left. On the other end, Aminu had another chance to add to his big night, but missed a corner three.
Marcus Smart followed with a rebound put-back, then drew a charge on a Damian Lillard driving layup and, suddenly, the Celtics had the ball, leading 110-104 with 1:27 left, and the game was all but over. Lillard finished with 28 points, seven assists and six rebounds and CJ McCollum added 20 points for the Blazers.
Harkless starts, Connaughton plays
Turner’s injury had a domino effect on the Blazers’ player rotation, creating not only a void at small forward in the starting lineup but also along the wing on the bench.
Blazers coach Terry Stotts plugged a familiar face into the starting lineup, featuring Moe Harkless at small forward. He had started 42 of the Blazers’ first 53 games. Off the bench, Pat Connaughton, who has played in just 25 games this season, earned rare rotation minutes.
“We have limited options,” Stotts said before the game. “But Moe, (Allen Crabbe), Pat Connaughton will probably play some tonight. It’s going to be by committee. I don’t focus so much on the starting lineup as how the game evolves. You get into a substitution pattern and it affects decisions throughout the course of the game.”
The Blazers didn’t miss a beat on defense in the starting lineup. Harkless made an early imprint, poking the ball away from Al Horford on a post-up and passing it ahead to start a fast break. The play ended with a Mason Plumlee layup. Harkless finished with three steals and two blocks as he alternated guarding forwards and point guards. He was less effective on offense, recording just four points, and the Blazers missed Turner’s playmaking and passing.
Connaughton, who drained a three-pointer in the first half and had a pretty layup in transition in the second half, finished with five points and two assists in 15 minutes. He made 2 of 3 shots, including 1 of 2 three-pointers.
Next up
After a rare three-day break, the Blazers finish a mini two-game home stand on Monday night, when they host the Atlanta Hawks at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast nationally on TNT.
Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman
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