The Portland Trail Blazers continued their impressive mid-season form, after they condemned the Charlotte Hornets to back-to-back losses with a comfortable win on Friday night. Damian Lillard stole the show with 22 points, six assists and five rebounds, as he guided the Trail Blazers to a seventh win in their last 10 games. Despite a solid start to the game by the Hornets, who sit 10th in the Eastern Conference, it was never their game, as their rallying efforts were thwarted as a comfortable defensive display by the home side saw it through, outscoring Charlotte in every quarter bar the first.

Points Across The Board

Although Damian Lillard took the initial plaudits, helping to improve on his 24.3 points per game average, it was very much a team performance that helped secure the Portland victory. Fellow guard C.J. McCollum scored 17 points for the night, whilst fellow starters Mason Plumlee and Al-Farouq Aminu had impressive double doubles. The former sunk 13 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, whilst the latter had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Aminu vastly improved on his recent form, having averaged just less than 10 points per game in his previous five. Off the bench, reserve guard Allen Crabbe helped the cause with 20 points, whilst Meyers Leonard was clinical in his 17 minutes of play, shooting 4-of-6 to score nine points. As a team they shot 48.9 percent for the night, while also connecting with just over a third of their shots from deep.

Not Enough From The Starters

Despite seeing power forward Marvin Williams score 20 points and nine assists, the Hornets just didn't produce enough on the night. Returning Michael Kidd-Gilchrist did score just over 60 percent of his shots, scoring 13. However, from 25 and 40 minutes of play respectively, Spencer Hawes and Nicolas Batum shot just a collective eight points. This was significantly lower than Batum's double figure average so far, as the 27 year old converted just one of his 11 field goals attempted, as well as just one three-pointer. The Hornets were helped off the bench by reserve guard Brian Roberts, who scored 17 for the night. Tyler Hansborough also hit a double double, as he scored 12 points with 14 rebounds and two blocks. As a team, poor shooting accuracy cost them on the night, as they connected with a significantly lower 38.8 percent of their field goals attempted. They did however, only convert three more three-pointers on the night.

Trail Blazers Lead Back-And-Forth Game At Halftime

The first quarter started very evenly, with both sides exchanging points in a narrow, back-and-forth game. Lillard started the game as he meant to go on, including an impressive dunk near the end, while former Trail Blazers man Nicolas Batum scored his only points of the game. It took a late surge in the last two minutes from Kemba Walker to separate the two sides, as he scored four and set up another to allow the Hornets to end the quarter with a four point lead, the score sitting at 25-21.

The second quarter was another back-and-forth game, as the two sides constantly exchanged points over the 12 minutes. By the time the Hornets called for a timeout four minutes in, Portland had turned the game on its head, with a 10-2 run making it a 31-27 ballgame. It wasn't until the end of the quarter that the scores would see a bigger gap. Both Marvin Williams and Tyler Hansborough scored five points for the quarter, while Portland's points came across the board. It was 50-45 at the end of the quarter.

Portland Takes Control

Out of the half time break, the Trail Blazers got grips on the open game, as they commanded the third quarter to make the game theirs. It wasn't an easy task, as the Hornets were the quicker out of the blocks, giving their team a 57-56 lead thanks to Kidd-Gilchrist and Williams' teamwork. However, some stellar defensive cover saw the Hornets score just six points in the next four minutes, as the game was once again flipped in Portland's favor, with a 69-63 lead with 3:04 left on the clock. They continued to control the game during the latter parts of the quarter, Allen Crabbe converting a three point play as the Trail Blazers opened up a double digit gap. Damian Lillard ended the third well, as they finished the quarter up 83-69.

The Hornets were forced into an early timeout just two minutes into the fourth quarter, as Portland continued where they finished off, giving themselves a 20 point advantage over Charlotte early on. Despite fighting their way back into the game thanks to some slick free throw conversion, they never managed to get closer than nine points. Following Brian Roberts' shot with 3:26 left on the clock, the scores was 100-91. However, Charlotte would fail to score a bucket for the rest of the game, as Portland engaged into cruise control and would win the game 109-91.

Next Up:

Charlotte Hornets: 31/01/16 at Los Angeles Lakers

Portland Trail Blazers: 31/01/16 host Minnesota Timberwolves