With injuries piling up, the Portland Trail Blazers refused to say die, banding together to blow out the Philadelphia 76ers 121-105 in one of the most entertaining games of the season. It wasn’t even that close.
Just as we all expected.
With Damian Lillard riding the pine nursing an abdominal strain, the Blazers found themselves down four starters facing the hottest team in the league on the road, which would normally signal a five-alarm disaster. But with expectations non-existent, Portland’s backups (along with Robert Covington, the sole survivor of the starting lineup) put forth an inspired, scrappy performance worthy of going down in the annals of memorable and exciting (if not otherwise mostly inconsequential) regular season lore.