Anfernee Simons poured in 36 points as the Portland Trail Blazers held off the Atlanta Hawks for a 106-102 victory on Wednesday night.
DeAndre Ayton was instrumental with a season-high 33 points and 19 rebounds for Portland, which had struggled, losing four of its last five games. Ayton secured his sixth consecutive double-double, demonstrating dominance on both ends of the court.
“Coming into these games I’m trying to do everything,” Ayton stated. “Not only just my requirement, my role for this team, but do a lot more. And that’s where I’m at. I’m more dominant.”
Dejounte Murray led the charge for the Hawks, tallying 40 points, just one shy of his season high, in the first game of their 11-day, five-game road trip—the longest stint of the season for the team.
Despite trailing by as many as 16 points in the first half, the Blazers mounted a comeback in the third quarter, entering the final period with an 82-75 lead.
The Hawks narrowed the gap to 95-91 on a 3-pointer by Murray. Simons responded with a crucial 3-pointer to extend Portland’s lead to 99-93, but Clint Capela’s dunk and layup cut the deficit to 101-97.
After Murray’s layup for Atlanta with 1:22 remaining, Simons missed a floater, but Matisse Thybulle’s block on Bogdan Bogdanović preserved Portland’s lead. Simons then made crucial free throws with 22.2 seconds left to maintain a four-point lead. Despite Murray’s late 3-pointer closing the gap to 103-102 with 17.1 seconds to go, Ayton’s free throw secured the victory for Portland.
“Whether I’m like the bad guy or not, I’m trying to be great. I’m trying to be a winner in this league. I’m trying to be known as that guy,” Ayton emphasized. “You’re around me, you’re going to learn how to win.”
The Hawks have been plagued by injuries, with Saddiq Bey being the latest casualty after tearing his ACL in Sunday night’s game against New Orleans. Meanwhile, Bogdan Bogdanović battled through illness to contribute for Atlanta.
Blazers coach Chauncey Billups praised his team’s resilience, especially in the second half. “Wasn’t crazy about our first half, wasn’t crazy about our start. But we talked about it at halftime, we looked at a few things, and we picked it up,” Billups remarked. “Physicality, our defensive awareness picked up, and offensively we were able to rebound and kind of run and break free a little bit.”
