Behind Jrue Holiday, Trail Blazers begin pivotal road trip vs. Sixers
Jrue Holiday and the Portland Trail Blazers will begin a five-game road trip Sunday when they take on the Philadelphia 76ers.
Holiday, who began his career with Philadelphia in 2009, is now a veteran on a young Portland squad.
He is averaging 16.7 points and 6.3 assists and particularly has been effective in March. In six games this month, Holiday is averaging 21.3 points and 6.8 assists on 56.3% shooting, including 51.2% from 3-point range.
Most recently, Holiday made 10 of 16 shots from the floor and finished with 25 points in a 124-114 home victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday. Scoot Henderson added 25 points for Portland, while Donovan Clingan contributed 21 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks.
The win moved the Trail Blazers within a half-game of the Golden State Warriors for the ninth seed in the Western Conference standings.
"Of course we like the win, but there's things to improve," Portland coach Tiago Splitter said. "We know that. That's what we're going to do, and we know how to fix that. So we've got to keep working, keep teaching (our young players). We know that. They're young."
The Trail Blazers had lost four of their previous six games. Now with 15 games remaining, they are embarking on a five-game trek that will end with challenging matchups against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets.
"I feel like lately we've had a couple of (games) where it's not really a pretty game, but we find a way to win, and I think that's the biggest thing," forward Toumani Camara said. "Being able to learn through wins is definitely better than through losses."
Philadelphia is searching for consistency as well. The Sixers had lost five of seven before prevailing 104-97 against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.
Quentin Grimes scored a season-high 28 points for the short-handed Sixers, who continue to play without Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Paul George, among others.
"Right now, he's got to score, right?" Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said. "He did what he saw today. They're pressing him up really hard to get him inside the line. He takes off on the dribble. They're pulling guys in to stop. He's been pretty explosive at the rim lately. He knew that was the tier that he needed to score from today."
Justin Edwards chipped in with 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting. He has scored in double figures in three of his past four games after previously doing so just five times all season.
"He's going to be a really great catch-and-shoot player at some point," Nurse said. "It's just the mechanics and work ethic and confidence and the ball finding him."
Philadelphia led by as many as 28 points against Brooklyn before letting the Nets take the lead late in the fourth quarter. By recovering to post a victory, the Sixers remain tied with the Atlanta Hawks for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings, but they are just 1 1/2 games out of the sixth spot and a guaranteed playoff series.
Still, Nurse would love to see a complete 48-minute effort from his team on Sunday.
"The story of the game was energy, and we had a ton of it in the first half," Nurse said. "(The Nets) came out the second half, I thought, with a lot, and it was noticeably different, and that turned the game around."
This is the second and final matchup between the teams this season. The Trail Blazers topped the Sixers 135-118 on Feb. 9 in Portland as Camara scored a career-high 30 points on 8-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc.