The Portland Trail Blazers clocked in for a relatively easy night at the home office Monday against the Washington Wizards. Portland won comfortably, 112-97, but the margin felt larger as essentially the entire fourth quarter was mop-up time.
“I felt good about our start to the game,” Portland head coach Chauncey Billups said. “I thought we were very focused at the start, so it gave me a good feeling about the rest of the night.”
Billups got that optimistic feeling despite the Wizards going ahead 23-15 around the midway mark of the first quarter, and the good omen he saw proved correct.