The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Indiana Pacers 114-110 on Monday evening, pulling their overall record to 5-12. Stout defense typified the effort, along with offense from Portland’s three most senior players.
If you missed the game, you can read our quarter-by-quarter recap here. Once you’re done with that, here are some of the factors that preserved a narrow victory for Portland instead of sending them to a narrow defeat as has so often happened this year.
Contesting Defense
The single biggest factor typifying Portland’s run of almost-success in recent games is their ability to contest shots consistently.