The Portland Trail Blazers and Orlando Magic, two of the worst shooting teams in the NBA, engaged in an ugly basketball game this evening in Florida. But the Blazers were up for ugly, and they thrived in it, riding a physical, swarming defense to an old-school 101-79 beatdown.
Portland guard Anfernee Simons led the Blazers with 21 points on solid efficiency. Forwards Toumani Camara and Deni Avdija chipped in 16 and 13 points, respectively. On the other side, Orlando forward Franz Wagner put up 20 points while his All-Star teammate Paolo Banchero was dreadful, going 1-14 from the field for eight points and five turnovers.