The Portland Trail Blazers downed the Philadelphia 76ers 118-111 in Moda Center on Saturday night behind 39 big points from Damian Lillard. It was a manufactured win. Even without Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, the Sixers fought hard. Portland had to fight off several runs as Lillard scrambled to save them. In the end, results were satisfying even if the process was laborious.
If you missed the game, you can find our quarter-by-quarter recap here. Once you’re done with that, here are some other themes of the evening.
Effort
If the Trail Blazers are trying to send a message to the league, it’s coming back postage due.