Damian Lillard’s stone cold three-point shooting in the fourth quarter of Friday’s 102-91 win over the Los Angeles Clippers will lead the highlight reel, but it was the dirty work of Ed Davis and Mason Plumlee on the glass that helped pave the way for the Portland Trail Blazers to snap a seven-game losing streak.
Though not a common tandem in the Portland frontcourt, Davis and Plumlee combined for 35 points and 25 rebounds against one of the NBA’s top big-man combinations in Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. The Trail Blazers edged the Clippers in rebounding 55-42 on the night to go with Davis and Plumlee shooting 13-for-17 from the field.
“I like their experienced together,” head coach Terry Stotts said after the game. “I liked the matchups with Jordan and Griffin. I thought that was something we wanted to look at, especially with Meyers [Leonard] out. I thought Noah [Vonleh, who started the game at power forward] gave us good minutes, but I liked their experience. I think that showed in the second quarter, it gave everybody confidence with it. After it did well in the second quarter, I kind of knew we’d be finishing with that.”
Added Plumlee: “[The lineup] was kind of on the fly, we haven’t looked at that a lot. Our advantage is our rebounding, and I think you saw what it produced. The big boy lineup worked.”
On the offensive end alone, Davis grabbed 10 rebounds — the same amount as the entire LA roster. Often describing himself as an “energy guy,” Davis’ effort on the offensive boards helped provide 25 second-chance points in the win. That energy rubs off on Davis’ teammates, according to Stotts.
“I’ve never been one to preach offensive rebounds,” Stotts said. “I think that it’s great when we have them and we rely on our big guys to get those. It takes a lot of work to get offensive rebounds. They don’t just fall in your lap. [Davis] wasn’t getting a lot of free-throw rebounds or anything like that. He worked for them. Those types of plays really energize everybody else. Whether he gets it and puts it back in or he kicks it out and you get another possession. Those energy plays are contagious.”
“[Davis] really controlled the game on the glass, and all those extra possessions are huge,” echoed Plumlee. “Not only did we capitalize on a lot of them, but just making them guard again — it can wear on you mentally.”
For Davis, his strategy on the offensive end is simple: lose his man and get the put-back. Having guards like Lillard and CJ McCollum that like to drive in the paint makes his job as a rebounder a bit easier.
“We’ve got guards that attack the rim, they attract a lot of attention,” Davis told reporters. “My man usually goes to try to block the shot, and I usually have wide-open put-backs.”
While it’s just one win, the strong play from Davis and Plumlee against a top frontcourt should provide some confidence going forward in the long NBA season, starting with Sunday’s meeting with the Lakers in Los Angeles.
“Wins don’t come easy in this league,” said Plumlee.
“We earned it tonight; it’s something to take on our road trip.”
