Blazers Blow the Hornets Away, 141-88
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This one was a laugher from start to finish.
The Portland Trail Blazers utterly destroyed the Charlotte Hornets Saturday night, 141-88. They technically didn’t win wire-to-wire, but the only deficit the Blazers experienced was when the Hornets got their noses in front at 4-3. That lead lasted lasted all of 23 seconds. Thereafter is was pretty straightforward and comprehensive. The Blazers scored 73 points in the first half, and took a 30 point lead into the locker room. The lead would only grow in the second half.
Player of the Game: Toumani Camara. Toumani was spectacular on both end of the court. LaMelo Ball will be seeing Toumani in his nightmares for the next week. Ball averages 32.7 points per game, but tonight he was held to just 5, largely thanks to Toumani’s efforts. Toumani scored 20 points on 77.8% shooting, including going 4 for 6 from deep. He also added 10 rebounds, six assists, a steal, and two blocks. Oh yes, he also had a +/- of +45. What a tremendous effort.
Stat of the Night: 36 fast break points for the Blazers. Even more impressive, 27 of them were in the first half. Charlotte had the welcome mat out for Portland to run, but it was nice to see the Blazers take such tremendous advantage and run up the score, especially in the first half.
Yuki Kawamura is 5’8″. Zach Edey is 7’4″. They are teammates on the Memphis Grizzlies, which means that technically speaking, their job descriptions are identical. Let’s celebrate that, and let’s talk about which sports do and do not permit for such wonderful disparity in size and shape.
What We’ll Remember: Probably the Blazers breaking their previous record of 50 for largest margin of victory. Despite that, honestly, not much. This was one of those games where you just wonder how much of the final result was the Blazers being good, and how much was the Hornets being tired and very, very bad. If push comes to shove though, I’ll highlight Simons getting trapped with the shot clock running out late in the first quarter, hooking a high cross court pass to Shaedon beyond the arc who immediately rose to bury an off balance three with a hand in his face. The Hornets didn’t play much defense tonight, but you knew that when possessions like that one were ending up with three points for Portland that Charlotte’s goose was cooked.
Box Score
What’s Next: The Blazers start a seven game road trip with a stop against the Utah Jazz on Monday. The opponent will once again be a team below them in the draft standings. The Jazz are in the midst of a colossal nine game homestand that began with two games before the All-Star break and won’t end until five days into March.
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Chauncey Billups Postgame Interview | Portland Trail Blazers 141, Charlotte Hornets 88 | February 22, 2025
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Chauncey Billups Postgame Interview | Portland Trail Blazers 141, Charlotte Hornets 88 | February 22, 2025
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Trail Blazers race past Hornets for largest victory in franchise history
Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons, center, shoots between Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams, right, and guard LaMelo Ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer) APAP
The Portland Trail Blazers ended their four-game losing streak with a 141-88 win Saturday night over the Charlotte Hornets at the Moda Center.
The 53-point win is the largest in Blazers history, surpassing their 129-79 home win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at home on Nov. 21, 1982.
The Blazers desperately needed a win after blowing an opportunity against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, and the Hornets were the perfect opponent to accommodate.
The Hornets entered the night with the fourth-worst record in the NBA (14-41) and losers in 10 of their previous 12 games.
In other words, losing this game for the Blazers would have been unacceptable if they truly seek to make a run at earning a play-in berth.
The Blazers made it clear early on that they didn’t intend to toy with the Hornets. Portland jumped out to a 38-21 lead at the end of the first quarter when Anfernee Simons hit a running hook shot off the glass at the buzzer.
The onslaught continued in the second quarter, where a Simons’ three-point basket gave the Blazers a 67-39 lead with 1:35 to go. The Blazers rolled into halftime up 73-40.
Simons led the Blazers with 25 points, bouncing back from scoring just eight points against the Lakers on 3-of-13 shooting. Against the Hornets, Simons shot 8 of 16, including 5 of 10 from three-point range.
Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, left, dribbles past Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer) APAP
Toumani Camara came away with 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Deni Avdija, who scored 28 points against the Lakers, had 15 against the Hornets.
Shaedon Sharpe and Jabari Walker both came off the bench to score 20 points.
Miles Bridges led the Hornets with 17 points. LaMelo Ball, who entered the night averaging 27.3 points per game, scored just five against the Blazers on 1-of-10 shooting.
The Blazers shot a season-high 58.6% from the field and 46.5% from three-point range while making a season-high 20 on 43 attempts. They racked up 37 assists on 51 field goal attempts.
WHAT IT MEANS
The 13th-place Blazers (24-33) picked a half-game on the 10th-place Sacramento Kings (28-28), who were off, and now trail them by 4½ games.
FAST BREAK FURY
The Blazers’ 27 fast break points in the first half set the NBA’s season high. They scored nine in the second half to finish with 36.
Charlotte Hornets center Jusuf Nurkic, left, spins around Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer) APAP
NURKIC RETURNS
Former Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic played his first game in Portland as a member of the Hornets, who acquired him from Phoenix at the trade deadline.
Nurkic came off the bench to score 11 points with eight rebounds and five assists. He shot 5 of 9 from the field.
NEXT UP
The Blazers start a seven-game trip Monday at the Utah Jazz (13-42).
— Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook)
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