Portland Trail Blazers guard Ashton Hagans plays with the hunger of a young player trying to carve out a spot in the NBA. The 24-year-old guard gets in opponents’ grills on defense, hits the deck for loose balls eagerly and flexes with might after tough finishes.
All that tenacity led to Hagans’ best game of his young Blazers career in Saturday night’s 107-100 overtime win against the Memphis Grizzlies. Hagans received extended minutes due to to the absences of Scoot Henderson and Malcom Brogdon. He parlayed 33 minutes of playing time into 13 points on 4-9 shooting, eight assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block, helping to overcome his six turnovers by filling up the stat sheet in other areas.