The Portland Trail Blazers came oh-so-close to their first win of the 2024-2025 season tonight, dominating the New Orleans Pelicans for three quarters before falling behind in the fourth to lose 105-103. Jerami Grant had a strong performance with 34 points on 8-17 three-point shooting. Anfernee Simons scored 24, but was unable to convert the game into consecutive possessions. Jordan Hawkins led the Pelicans with 24 players off the bench, many of which came in the decisive fourth quarter.

Despite the loss, Portland showed many admirable qualities in the match. Among them were the following.

Controlled pace

After losing a sprint-a-thon to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, the Blazers did what they had to do tonight: finish every possession, but slow down and build the half-court offense when the break buckets weren’t available. They’ve gotten rid of the bad quick shots that bothered them two days ago. Instead, they penetrated and dished out the occasional pick-and-roll or off-ball cutting action. They had a lot of success finding shooters on the weak side. It was actually quite clever and beautiful? I’m not sure these words have been used to describe Portland’s offense since the Terry Stotts/Damian Lillard era.

The Blazers shot 41.1% from the field, 35.5% from the three-point arc with 12 fast break points and a 42-30 edge in the paint. Those are modest numbers by NBA standards, but Portland will take them and run judiciously.

Jerami Grant

No one benefited from half-court passing more than Jerami Grant, who relished three-pointers and had the occasional drive. His shot was quick and decisive. One of the standouts of this new season is how Grant has taken on a true No. 1 scoring role. He is like a fine wine that has reached its prime.

For anyone who criticizes the Blazers’ coaching staff, fair enough most nights. But putting Grant on the weak side was a genius move against the big, rather slow and over-pursuing Pelicans. Their guards are not defensive threats. As soon as Grant caught it, the shot was all but sunk, the drive open. That wouldn’t have happened if JG had taken his usual spot on the strong side of the field. Nice move against this opponent.

Draw errors

Three-pointers weren’t the only way the Blazers ran up the scoreboard. Penetration led to foul shots, the secret sauce for Portland’s offensive Big Mac. The Blazers shot 80% from the charity stripe, with Anfernee Simons making 11 foul shots and hitting 10. It’s impossible to overstate how free throws transform a previously pedestrian offense into a decent one.

Forced turnover

The Pelicans played big and thrived in isolation, letting Portland’s defense turn against them. Portland’s size was enough to counter their opponents. Their quicker hands and feet showed up in forced turnovers. The Blazers helped the Pels to 19 miscues. That reduced New Orleans’ scoring ability, a huge advantage. At halftime, Portland had scored just 47 points (about a quarter of the production for the Boston Celtics). But New Orleans only had 37, in part because Portland limited their opportunities. In that way it was a dream half, just the way the coaches set it up. Too bad it couldn’t last all 48.

Simons recovers

In the second half, the role of weak scorer Jerami Grant was played by Anfernee Simons, who worked off the ball in open space to create threes and layups. He looked like one bona fide Big Deal in the third period. Once he got rolling, he took over ball-handling duties, drawing Pelican defenders in like flies and then serving to teammates. However, things cooled down a bit when Simons started playing one against everyone. He also got trapped on the penultimate play of the match and hit cleanly trying to tie at the buzzer, with both attempts ending up on penetration. It’s a work in progress.

Simons finished with 24 points, 7 assists and 4 turnovers, but shot just 6-20 from the field, 2-9 from beyond the arc.

Nasty Scotsman

Scoot Henderson came off the bench with 3 steals, 6 assists and 15 points on 7-9 shooting. He was a liability on defense all night, a stark contrast from Game 1. His confidence seems sky-high right now. He also did an impressive job (for him) in getting the ball to teammates at the rim and the arc. With multiple lobs to the middle, Henderson was a valuable player and passer tonight, not just a top scorer. That’s a welcome sight in Portland.

Ayton on the Rim

Deandre Ayton didn’t have a standout game, scoring 10 with 15 rebounds and 2 blocks. But his edge attack in the half, aided in part by Henderson, was exciting to watch. Ayton finished with authority after lobs and offensive rebounds. If Portland can give Ayton 3-4 super easy shots per game, his rating could go as high as 20 without too much trouble. An aggressive Ayton would help transform the Blazers’ offense into real nastiness.

However, Ayton was less successful outside the yard, especially in the fourth quarter. The Blazers’ half-court offense really needs him.

Toumani Camara defense

Toumani Camara came out of the gate ready to defend and kept going throughout the match. It’s almost scary how easily he stays in front of his man and makes him stand up during penetration. (Deni Avdija has similar abilities, by the way.) Camara’s only problem is fouls, but honestly, that seems to be as much a result of being relatively unknown in the league as it is Toumani’s hacking. If he were Draymond Green, he would have three fewer fouls and three more forced turnovers. If he can keep up the big “D,” that day could come.

Clingan the stopper

Donovan Clingan is not yet the ideal center for every situation, but in some circumstances he excels. New Orleans brought in a host of big men with the goal of getting to the rim one-on-one. That put the bigger, slower players right into Clingan’s wheelhouse. And no matter how big you are, Donovan is bigger. He racked up four blocked shots and forced three or four times as many misses, all by his little… uh, big… self. If you freeze an image of Clingan next to other NBA players, you’ll see how tall he is. If the opponent doesn’t get him moving, that size and his natural defensive instincts will pay off. DC did some capital work tonight.

Fourth quarter follies

All of the above happened in the first three periods of the match. The Blazers flagged somewhat in the fourth quarter. They came back on defense more slowly. Their half-court offense lost its aggressiveness. Grant and Ayton missed open shots they had hit earlier and Simons couldn’t save them. Pelicans guard Jordan Hawkins playing like Steph Curry didn’t help. New Orleans defeated Portland 30-19 in the final frame. That was just enough to secure the victory.

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Box score

The Blazers face the same Pelicans in Pacific on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.