Trail Blazers turn a close first quarter into a 119-66 rout of the London Lions

A four-point game disappeared fast

For a stretch, London kept the game within reach. Keenan Evans opened the scoring for the Lions, Maxwell Lewis attacked early for six points, and Ethan Price drilled consecutive threes that trimmed Portland's lead to 23-19 with 3:05 left in the opening quarter.

That was the last moment of suspense. Portland closed the period on an 11-2 push, sparked by deep shooting from Scoot Henderson and Sidy Cissoko and finished by Jrue Holiday at the rim, to make it 34-21 after one. The start of the second quarter was even harsher for London: Holiday scored again, Henderson hit another three, Donovan Clingan finished twice inside and Vit Krejci added a three as the margin ballooned to 48-21.

By halftime, the Trail Blazers had 72 points and a 39-point cushion. London managed only 12 points in the second quarter, and the combination of empty possessions at one end and clean Portland execution at the other decided the night long before the final horn. There were no lead changes, and the Lions never held an advantage.

Portland found points everywhere

The scoreline reflected more than one hot hand. Portland shot 45-for-80 from the field, hit 16 of 34 from three-point range and piled up 32 assists, the kind of balance that kept the Lions chasing every possession. The Trail Blazers also won the glass 51-32 and outscored London 54-24 in the paint, so the offence was not built on jumpers alone.

Henderson's line captured that efficiency: 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 4 of 5 from deep, in just 16 minutes. Cissoko was even cleaner, scoring 13 on a perfect 5-for-5 night and 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Yang Hansen added 13 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Camara matched Henderson with 14 points and Clingan supplied 11 points and six rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting.

That depth kept the margin growing after the break. Portland led 100-49 by the end of the third quarter and eventually pushed its largest lead to 57. Six Blazers reached double figures, Krejci added 10 points and five rebounds, and Jeremy Sochan chipped in eight points and eight boards. For a single-night performance, it was less about one star taking over than a roster moving the ball, finishing efficiently and punishing mistakes.

Our take

Portland's most convincing work came from how many problems it created at once. London could not solve the shooting gap, could not keep Portland off the boards and could not survive the turnover battle. The Lions finished at 30.3 per cent from the field and 21.2 per cent from three, while their 24 total turnovers led to 39 Portland points. Even when London did force errors of its own, producing 13 steals and 14 points off turnovers, the broader shot-making gap was too large to overcome.

For the Lions, the clearest improvements are straightforward ones rather than speculative tactical fixes: protect the ball better, shoot it with more accuracy and finish possessions on the glass. Lewis scored 13 and Devante Adams had 12, but the offence never found enough support around them. For Portland, the only notable blemish in a dominant result was 19 turnovers. In a 53-point win, that barely registered. Against stronger opposition, it would be the first number to clean up.

Scoring moments

1. 1st Quarter · 11:22

   Toumani Camara makes 22-foot three point jumper (Donovan Clingan assists)

2. 1st Quarter · 10:33

   Keenan Evans makes 15-foot pullup jump shot

3. 1st Quarter · 9:43

   Deni Avdija makes driving layup (Toumani Camara assists)

4. 1st Quarter · 9:43

   Deni Avdija makes free throw 1 of 1

5. 1st Quarter · 9:35

   Maxwell Lewis makes dunk (Tarik Phillip assists)

6. 1st Quarter · 9:11

   Donovan Clingan makes dunk (Deni Avdija assists)

7. 1st Quarter · 8:16

   Toumani Camara makes two point shot

8. 1st Quarter · 8:01

   Maxwell Lewis makes free throw 1 of 2

9. 1st Quarter · 8:01

   Maxwell Lewis makes free throw 2 of 2

10. 1st Quarter · 7:44

    Jrue Holiday makes 16-foot step back jumpshot (Deni Avdija assists)

11. 1st Quarter · 7:26

    Donovan Clingan makes 1-foot running dunk (Ja Morant assists)

12. 1st Quarter · 7:05

    Toumani Camara makes free throw 1 of 2

13. 1st Quarter · 7:05

    Toumani Camara makes free throw 2 of 2

14. 1st Quarter · 6:41

    Donovan Clingan makes alley oop dunk (Ja Morant assists)

15. 1st Quarter · 5:48

    Maxwell Lewis makes 28-foot three point step back jumpshot

16. 1st Quarter · 5:14

    Ethan Price makes 2-foot dunk (Devante Adams assists)

17. 1st Quarter · 4:58

    Joel Scott makes free throw 1 of 2

18. 1st Quarter · 4:58

    Joel Scott makes free throw 2 of 2

19. 1st Quarter · 4:37

    Scoot Henderson makes 25-foot three point step back jumpshot (Toumani Camara assists)

20. 1st Quarter · 3:45

    Ethan Price makes 26-foot three point jumper (Devante Adams assists)

21. 1st Quarter · 3:19

    Deni Avdija makes driving layup

22. 1st Quarter · 3:05

    Ethan Price makes 26-foot three point jumper (Devante Adams assists)

23. 1st Quarter · 2:47

    Scoot Henderson makes 26-foot three point jumper (Yang Hansen assists)

24. 1st Quarter · 2:05

    Sidy Cissoko makes 23-foot three point jumper (Deni Avdija assists)

25. 1st Quarter · 1:42

    Deane Williams makes two point shot (Ethan Price assists)

26. 1st Quarter · 50.4

    Scoot Henderson makes 25-foot three point step back jumpshot

27. 1st Quarter · 10.4

    Jrue Holiday makes layup (Sidy Cissoko assists)

28. 2nd Quarter · 11:30

    Jrue Holiday makes layup (Vit Krejci assists)

29. 2nd Quarter · 11:12

    Scoot Henderson makes 24-foot three point jumper (Jrue Holiday assists)

30. 2nd Quarter · 10:21

    Deni Avdija makes free throw 1 of 2

31. 2nd Quarter · 9:48

    Donovan Clingan makes 1-foot alley oop dunk (Jrue Holiday assists)

32. 2nd Quarter · 8:07

    Donovan Clingan makes layup (Jrue Holiday assists)

33. 2nd Quarter · 8:07

    Donovan Clingan makes free throw 1 of 1

34. 2nd Quarter · 7:45

    Vit Krejci makes 23-foot three point jumper (Scoot Henderson assists)

35. 2nd Quarter · 7:24

    Keenan Evans makes 18-foot pullup jump shot (Joel Scott assists)

36. 2nd Quarter · 7:04

    Deni Avdija makes 25-foot three point jumper (Sidy Cissoko assists)

37. 2nd Quarter · 6:44

    Micah Potter makes driving dunk (Toumani Camara assists)

38. 2nd Quarter · 6:27

    Keenan Evans makes 27-foot three pointer

39. 2nd Quarter · 5:40

    Yang Hansen makes two point shot

40. 2nd Quarter · 5:25

    Yang Hansen makes running layup (Sidy Cissoko assists)

41. 2nd Quarter · 5:14

    Devante Adams makes 12-foot two point shot

42. 2nd Quarter · 4:47

    Maxwell Lewis makes 26-foot three point jumper (Devante Adams assists)

43. 2nd Quarter · 4:03

    Devante Adams makes 15-foot driving floating jump shot

44. 2nd Quarter · 3:46

    Toumani Camara makes 23-foot three point jumper (Ja Morant assists)

45. 2nd Quarter · 3:15

    Sidy Cissoko makes 24-foot three point jumper (Ja Morant assists)

46. 2nd Quarter · 2:47

    Toumani Camara makes free throw 1 of 2

47. 2nd Quarter · 2:47

    Toumani Camara makes free throw 2 of 2

48. 2nd Quarter · 2:27

    Ja Morant makes running dunk

49. 2nd Quarter · 1:42

    Toumani Camara makes 1-foot dunk (Ja Morant assists)

50. 2nd Quarter · 45.7

    Ja Morant makes 23-foot three point jumper (Deni Avdija assists)

51. 3rd Quarter · 11:42

    Maxwell Lewis makes 11-foot driving floating jump shot (Thomas Kennedy assists)

52. 3rd Quarter · 10:51

    Sidy Cissoko makes 24-foot three point jumper (Vit Krejci assists)

53. 3rd Quarter · 10:32

    Sidy Cissoko makes running layup

54. 3rd Quarter · 10:21

    Maxwell Lewis makes free throw 1 of 2

55. 3rd Quarter · 10:10

    Yang Hansen makes 25-foot three point jumper (Scoot Henderson assists)

56. 3rd Quarter · 9:56

    Thomas Kennedy makes 4-foot layup (Keenan Evans assists)

57. 3rd Quarter · 9:43

    Yang Hansen makes driving layup

58. 3rd Quarter · 9:12

    Sidy Cissoko makes driving layup

59. 3rd Quarter · 8:36

    Scoot Henderson makes free throw 2 of 3

60. 3rd Quarter · 8:36

    Scoot Henderson makes free throw 3 of 3

61. 3rd Quarter · 8:10

    Yang Hansen makes 1-foot layup (Scoot Henderson assists)

62. 3rd Quarter · 7:22

    Vit Krejci makes free throw 1 of 2

63. 3rd Quarter · 7:22

    Vit Krejci makes free throw 2 of 2

64. 3rd Quarter · 6:43

    Vit Krejci makes 25-foot three point jumper (Yang Hansen assists)

65. 3rd Quarter · 4:28

    Tarik Phillip makes free throw 2 of 2

66. 3rd Quarter · 4:09

    Branden Carlson makes 25-foot three point jumper (Jeremy Sochan assists)

67. 3rd Quarter · 3:46

    Devante Adams makes 23-foot three point jumper (Tarik Phillip assists)

68. 3rd Quarter · 2:45

    Devante Adams makes 9-foot two point shot (Ethan Price assists)

69. 3rd Quarter · 1:58

    Landrius Horton makes free throw 1 of 3

70. 3rd Quarter · 1:58

    Landrius Horton makes free throw 2 of 3

71. 3rd Quarter · 1:58

    Landrius Horton makes free throw 3 of 3

72. 3rd Quarter · 1:44

    Jeremy Sochan makes 1-foot dunk (John Tonje assists)

73. 3rd Quarter · 1:15

    Jeremy Sochan makes tip shot

74. 3rd Quarter · 56.2

    Deane Williams makes free throw 1 of 2

75. 3rd Quarter · 56.2

    Deane Williams makes free throw 2 of 2

76. 4th Quarter · 11:06

    Tarik Phillip makes free throw 1 of 2

77. 4th Quarter · 11:06

    Tarik Phillip makes free throw 2 of 2

78. 4th Quarter · 10:56

    Yang Hansen makes 1-foot dunk (Jayson Kent assists)

79. 4th Quarter · 10:19

    Vit Krejci makes driving layup (Yang Hansen assists)

80. 4th Quarter · 9:49

    Micah Potter makes layup (Yang Hansen assists)

81. 4th Quarter · 9:49

    Micah Potter makes free throw 1 of 1

82. 4th Quarter · 9:16

    Mo Soluade makes 11-foot driving floating jump shot (Thomas Kennedy assists)

83. 4th Quarter · 7:34

    Jeremy Sochan makes 14-foot fade away jump shot

84. 4th Quarter · 7:16

    Devante Adams makes 26-foot three pointer

85. 4th Quarter · 6:29

    Jayson Kent makes tip shot

86. 4th Quarter · 6:02

    Thomas Kennedy makes two point shot

87. 4th Quarter · 5:46

    Jayson Kent makes 28-foot three point jumper (Jeremy Sochan assists)

88. 4th Quarter · 5:30

    Landrius Horton makes 13-foot driving floating jump shot (Thomas Kennedy assists)

89. 4th Quarter · 4:24

    Joel Scott makes 3-foot two point shot

90. 4th Quarter · 4:09

    Jeremy Sochan makes driving layup

91. 4th Quarter · 2:45

    Micah Potter makes driving dunk

92. 4th Quarter · 1:40

    Joel Scott makes 12-foot floating jump shot (Landrius Horton assists)

93. 4th Quarter · 54.7

    Joel Scott makes 1-foot layup (Landrius Horton assists)

94. 4th Quarter · 40.7

    John Tonje makes free throw 1 of 2