The Portland Trail Blazers faced the Toronto Raptors with recently-acquired guard Norman Powell in the starting lineup. This would mark the first night in which the Blazers fielded a complete lineup for the last three months. Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Jusuf Nurkic started alongside Powell. Meanwhile Gary Trent, Jr. and Rodney Hood, whom the Blazers swapped for Powell, played prominent roles for the opposition. Raptors guard Kyle Lowry sat out the game.
The renewed roster, combined with a depleted (and let’s face it, not very good) Toronto rotation should have spelled an easy win for the Blazers.