Blazers Beat Hornets Behind Shaedon Sharpe’s Strong 4th Quarter
The Portland Trail Blazers took down the Charlotte Hornets 97-93 in what was supposed to be a matchup of the Nos. 2 & 3 overall picks.
The first quarter was back and forth and neither team was able to get out to much of a lead, but saw Portland hold a slight edge heading into the second quarter. Jabari Walker and Kris Murray shined for the Blazers as they combined for 15 of the Blazers’ 29 first quarter points.
The second quarter saw Portland jump out to the first big lead of the game, where they got a 15 point advantage midway through the quarter. However, the Hornets, and Brandon Miller, caught fire late in the quarter and rode an 11-0 run to cut the lead back to single digits as Portland took just a five point lead into the halftime break.
The third quarter saw the Blazers go cold as they did not score a field goal for over four minutes until they finally broke the streak with just over five minutes remaining in the quarter. However, the Blazers were able to keep the Hornets at bay for most of the quarter despite the poor shooting. Charlotte was able to tie the game up with under a minute left in the quarter to send the two teams into the fourth knotted at 68.
The fourth quarter saw a great battle between Shaedon Sharpe and Nick Smith Jr. The two high scoring guards combined for 33 of 54 points scored in the quarter as the Blazers and Hornets went back and forth. The Hornets took their first lead since 26-25 in the first quarter with a 70-68 advantage early in the final period.
Sharpe struggled for much of the game, scoring just nine points on 3-11 shooting through three quarters. However, in the fourth Sharpe became a man on a mission, shooting 5-6 from the field on his way to securing a win for the Blazers.
In addition to Sharpe’s team-high 26 points, the Blazers got 19 from Kris Murray, and 12 apiece from Michael Devoe and Doup Reath.
Devoe followed up his great showing against the San Antonio Spurs with a very efficient 12 points and seven assists on 4-7 from the field and 2-3 from deep. Jabari Walker was the last Blazer to get in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds in his minutes.
The Hornets were led by Nick Smith Jr., who had the game high with 33 points. Number three overall pick Brandon Miller had his best game of Summer League so far with a 26 point and 6 rebound showing while shooting 8-15 from the field and 3-6 from behind the arc. Kai Jones was the only other Hornet in double figures, scoring 13 on 6-7 shooting from the field including a few massive dunks.
Box Score
The Portland Trail Blazers will play their final Summer League game on Thursday where they will take on No. 6 overall pick Anthony Black and the Orlando Magic at 6:00 PM Pacific Time on ESPN2.
Source: Blazer's Edge
