Kicking off a stretch in which 10 of their next 11 games come in front of the Moda Center crowd, the stage was set for the Portland Trail Blazers to officially re-introduce themselves to the NBA world, starting with a convincing performance against a cellar-dwelling Orlando Magic group.
The Blazers went 0-of-1 in that regard, and 6-of-35 from the 3-point line, paving the way to a difficult 109-106 loss on Tuesday night. Despite another 30-point performance from Damian Lillard and a 22-point, 10-rebound showing from Jusuf Nurkic, the Magic’s stars simply struck a bit harder, using red-hot starts in the first and third quarters to hang on for a nail biting win.