Summer League recap: Blazers top Wizards, 82-80

It was another good night for the Blazers, who earned a narrow victory over Alex Sarr and the Washington Wizards, 82-80.

Both teams got off to a slow start offensively. Donovan Clingan scored the game’s first points on a layup two minutes into the game, but neither team scored again until more than four minutes into the game. The Wizards took control of the game after finally getting their offense going, going on a 12-2 run and taking a 12-6 lead with three minutes left in the first quarter.

Portland and Washington went back and forth through the first quarter and into the second quarter, with neither team really taking the lead. Both teams struggled from the field through the first three quarters, but the defensive abilities of Alex Sarr and Clingan were on full display, even if their offensive numbers weren’t quite there.

Portland began to take the lead in the third quarter with a run that included a three-pointer from Clingan, his first of the Summer League. However, a 14-1 run late in the third and early in the fourth gave the Wizards the lead again thanks to some stellar shooting from 14th overall pick Bub Carrington, who was part of the trade that brought Deni Avdija to Portland.

The Blazers regained the lead late in the game with an 8-0 run. Clingan returned to the game in the middle of the run to provide solid interior defense and add to his rebounding total as the Wizards struggled to score late in the game. A pair of three-pointers from Washington brought them back within striking distance, then a costly turnover gave Carrington a chance to tie the game at the buzzer. However, Portland got lucky and came out on top 82-80.

The score of the box

Brief thoughts

• Clingan has always struggled to shoot efficiently. However, he did look open on some of his shots to the basket. Hopefully playing with a passing point guard like Scoot Henderson can help unlock that facet of his game. His defense is clearly already there. He added five blocks to bring his total to a Summer League-high 12. He had a key block defending Carrington on the perimeter late in the game, and added 13 rebounds for a total of 37, also the best of all Summer League players, through three games.
• Rayan Rupert still looks healthy, but he’s starting to put the pieces together. He can still look lost at times, but his 16 points and 5-11 shooting in this game were his best game of Summer League so far. He didn’t have a steal or block, but had some good defensive possessions throughout the game.
• The Blazers shot 34.8 percent from the field in the game and just 30.0 percent from behind the line. However, they got an even worse shooting performance from Washington, who shot just 33.3 percent. Second-overall pick Alex Sarr failed to find any success on the offensive end, going scoreless on 15 shots. Clingan had a hand in that, but most of the time, it was just bad shooting. If he could have been more important, this game probably wouldn’t have ended in Portland’s favor.

Shortly :

Portland faces the Charlotte Hornets (2-0) at 8:00 p.m. PT at the Pavilion.