----- The Portland Trail Blazers set an NBA record with their 124-76 win over the Suns in Phoenix on Wednesday night.
The Trail Blazers set an NBA record on Wednesday night as they rolled the Phoenix Suns 124-76 at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The 48-point win was the largest margin of victory on opening night in NBA history and the second largest margin of victory in Trail Blazers team history.
Pat Connaughton made the most of his minutes tonight with CJ McCollum out of the lineup by scoring a career-high 24 points, going 9-for-14 from the floor including 4-for-7 from beyond the three-point line. Damian Lillard led the Blazers in scoring with 27 points, going 10-for-20 from the floor.
The Blazers main focus during the preseason was improving their play on the defensive end of the floor and that renewed focus was apparent tonight. Portland held Phoenix to just 31.5 percent shooting, holding the Suns to just 14 points in the second quarter when they took control of the game by building a 60-35 halftime lead.
The Blazers will now fly to Indiana to meet the Pacers on Friday and finish up the three-game road trip on Saturday in Milwaukee against the Bucks before they return to Portland for their home opener Tuesday night against New Orleans.
Chad's Take- The Blazers defense was sensational tonight. Everyone who played was active and flying around the floor. I look forward to seeing if the Blazers can duplicate that type of effort defensively moving forward. Props to the Blazers for dominating the paint tonight. Portland had a 57-33 rebounding edge and outscored the Suns 46-34 in the paint.