The Portland Trail Blazers avoided a letdown and ran away late with a take it and never speak of it again 111-101 win over the New York Knicks at the Moda Center.
Frankly, a loss tonight at home against a dysfunctional Knicks squad would be unacceptable and highly discouraging, but to its credit Portland found a way to take care of business, even while not looking its best.
But a victory wasn’t all but guaranteed - New York hung close for the entire first half and stayed within spitting distance until the final minutes before Portland managed to put them away.