The Portland Trail Blazers battled through injuries and defeated the Sacramento Kings 115-106 on Friday night at the Moda Center in front of a Thanksgiving holiday crowd. Since it was an Emirates NBA Cup game, the competition carried a little more weight. The Blazers may not have a team contending for the title this season, but they are still in the hunt for a wild-card berth in the knockout phase of the NBA Cup.

The Trail Blazers got off to a slow start against the Kings due to injuries to rotation players Jerami Grant, Scoot Henderson, Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams. The tempo was fast and the Blazers had trouble finishing at the rim. Maybe it was all the turkey and stuffing, but it felt like the Kings were running away with the game. Then Deni Avdija decided to make today’s game his special moment with the Blazers. With Grant injured, Avdjia got the start and set the tone with his aggressive tackling, passing and three-point shooting. The rest of the team fell in line and took the win, despite a slow start from Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe.

Deandre Ayton played one of his best games of the season, finishing with 26 points and 9 rebounds. Dalano Banton led the bench with 17 points and went 3-6 from three-point range.

The Blazers have had a season of ups and downs, but their best home games came in the NBA Cup. It’s difficult to get a good look at this team because injuries require a different lineup every night, but the eye test shows there’s something cooking in Rip City.

MVP of the game

Avvdija took over the starting kick for the injured Grant and took advantage of his chance. It appeared he was auditioning for the future starting number four spot if Grant was traded this season. If that were to happen, the Trail Blazers offense would see an increase in playmaking and assists. Grant is a great offensive player, but the ball stops with him. He usually makes the most of his chances, but the rest of the team stands and watches.

With Avdija at the helm, the team provided 27 assists tonight (15 of which came in the first half). The Blazers are averaging just 21 assists per game this season, which is the second-lowest mark in the league. Avdija did a great job tonight forcing the action and looking for teammates. There was still 3:10 left in the second quarter when Avdija threw a laser to Sharpe for an easy layup on the counterattack. It was a pass with a high level of difficulty. It also put Sharpe on offense after failing to score in the first quarter.

Avdija finished the game with 20 points, 4-9 from deep, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and a block in 37 minutes. He brings a different flow to the Blazers’ offense.

Force turnovers

The Kings have struggled this season, but they still boast one of the deadliest offenses in the NBA. The Blazers rose to the challenge and locked it down. Portland forced Sacramento into 14 turnovers in the first half and 20 total in the game. Led by Toumani Camara and Banton, the Blazers were active in the passing lanes and never allowed the Kings to make easy shots. Banton would set a career high with 5 steals. If the Blazers can employ this type of defense every night, the offense will start to get better. The team tends to falter when the opponent can stretch their defense, but when they find themselves in the open court, the Blazers are lethal.

Pick N Roll

The Blazers treated tonight like a playoff game. After getting over the frantic pace of the start of the game, the team slowed down and worked on the pick-n-roll. Avdija and Ayton were the main attractions of this show, but Simons also started cooking in the second half. As the game progressed, the Blazers placed two shooters in the corner, maintained a release in the high post and let the pick-n-roll shred the Kings’ defense. As soon as Avdija or Simons came around the corner, it was checkmate. You don’t want to use this offense every quarter or all season, but when crunch time comes, the best teams are the ones that can run the pick-n-roll.

Under pressure

The Blazers were outscored 8-14 in transition tonight and shot just 29% from three-point range. Normally this would be a recipe for disaster. Despite these negative statistics, they won comfortably. Why? The answer lies in the print. Portland forced mismatches and made for easy baskets at the rim. Even though the team shot poorly from distance, they still managed 64 points from 51% from the field. Compare that to the Kings, who scored 34 points, and you’ll see why the Blazers pulled away in the fourth quarter.

Turning the tide

At the start of the second quarter, the Blazers were still struggling to find rhythm and power. Enter Jabari Walker. Walker has struggled this season and honestly hasn’t had much playing time. Portland has a logjam at the forward/center position and Walker found himself on the wrong end of the rotation. But tonight, when his number was called, he was ready to go.

At 10:42 of the second quarter, Walker grabbed an offensive rebound and scored. On the next defensive possession, he fought veteran Jae Crowder for a rebound and incurred a loose ball foul in the process. He immediately followed up with another offensive rebound/hustle play and an assist to Kris Murray for an easy layup. The entire sequence lasted less than 40 seconds, but in my opinion it turned the tide of the game. Shortly after, the Blazers would take the lead and never look back. Walker only played 10 minutes but took his chance.

Next

Box score

The Blazers will host the Dallas Mavericks at the Moda Center on Sunday night at 6:00 p.m. Pacific time.