First, we learned the Portland Trail Blazers are fun this year. Then, we learned Damian Lillard is back. And now, we have the Anfernee Simons Game.
The fifth-year shooting guard is the emphatic storyline of Game Four, shaking off a three-game slump to unleash one of the hottest scoring sprees in recent Blazers memory. For about four minutes of game-time in the third quarter, Simons turned Rip City into a madhouse, a shining spectacle, bright enough even for the King to see.
When all three factors listed up top are rolling at once — inspired, fun play combined with a vintage Lillard and a red-hot Simons exploding onto the scene — you get what happened last night: a 135-110 beatdown of two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.