Portland Trail Blazers (33-36) beat Brooklyn Nets (17-51) 114-95 on the road on Monday, March 16, never trailing at a quarter break.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Trail Blazers had the better start, winning the first 35-20 to lead by 15 after one. The Trail Blazers kept the pressure on with a 30-21 second quarter, carrying a 24-point lead into halftime.
The Trail Blazers won the third 26-24 to create some separation, taking a 26-point lead into the fourth. The Nets took the fourth 30-23; the Trail Blazers held on for a 114-95 regulation win.
What decided it
The Trail Blazers got more from their shots, finishing at 58.1% effective field-goal shooting compared with 43.6% for the Nets. The Trail Blazers made 26.3 free throws per 100 field-goal attempts, compared with 23.3 for the Nets. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Nets did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 34% against 28.9%. The Trail Blazers made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 99 possessions per team, the Trail Blazers produced 115.4 points per 100 possessions to 96.2 for the Nets.
Who made the difference
Toumani Camara was the game's biggest individual force for POR: 18 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast on 7-9 shooting. His Game Score of 18.1 led everyone. His team was +19 with him on the floor.
Chaney Johnson led the Nets with 17 pts, 9 reb, 1 ast on 6-8 shooting, good for a 16.8 Game Score.
Nicolas Claxton (12 pts, 11 reb, 1 ast) and Donovan Clingan (14 pts, 11 reb, 2 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 58% for the Trail Blazers.
Across the last 2 meetings in our records, the series is even.
The Trail Blazers are now 33-36, and the Nets are 17-51. The Trail Blazers last five before this game: L-W-L-W-L.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.