THIS WAS THE LEAST CLUTCH WIN OF THE SEASON.True. Portland is over .500 because they execute in the clutch. With Dame and CJ you have two great shot creators and free throw shooters. This team routinely closes out games when they have even a crack of a lead. Make no mistake about it. Portland completely outplayed a bad Hornets team. But do you remember how many times Portland failed to put this game away? Yikes! Down the stretch, as Portland squandered a 16 point fourth quarter leads we saw turnovers, missed free throws, even worse turnovers and more missed free throws. What was the worst?

Batuum commits a dubious backcourt foul on ET with Charlotte down 2 and 1:30 left. Turner only hits one of two.

After an offensive rebound and leading by one, Turner and Lillard combine to turn the ball over to Walker for a breakaway. Aminu makes the block of the season.

Nurk gets an offensive rebound of a terrible possession and the ball is knocked out of bounds; Despite using a timeout, Portland throws away the in-bound pass.

CJ is fouled with a one point lead with 16 seconds to go. He only makes one of two. At what point does this become a mental block?

Chief is fouled with 3 seconds to go. He just needs to make one and Portland will have a 3 point lead. He bricks both.

Portland held on to win a game they tried every which way to lose. One lesson: when you star is having a terrible shooting night, find someone else to take key shots. Walker finished an atrocious 7-26 from the field. Yes he got good looks, but it was not his night and it cost the Hornets.

PORTLAND'S DEFENSE IS LEGIT.也许是真的。后我们会知道更多3 game against play-off teams. But when the Blazers play a bad team that doesn't run, they can put pressure on the opponent to make tough jump shots. The Hornets shot only 34% for the game, and a miserable 23% from deep. Throughout the game, Portland was getting easier shots than Charlotte. Walker will rarely shoot that poorly. It must still gall Dame that Kemba is an all-star in the East and Lillard has been last man out in the West. Portland has a 3 game winning streak on the road and a healthy 9-5 road record because they have improved their defense.

AT WHAT POINT DO WE KNOW A PLAYER JUST CAN'T SHOOT?Kidd-Gilchrist is an unbelievable athlete. But in his 6th year, he just can't shoot. In a league that values shooting from deep, he is a career .200 shooter from behind the arc. Carter-Williams will usually at least make his lay-ins. But he is also a terrible shooter. Were you ready to cheer when Dwight pulled up for a couple of 17 footers? Oshey and Stotts sometimes over-value shooting at the expense of athleticism. But it was abundantly clear that the Hornets were easier to defend because they usually had multiple non-shooters on the court. I am not trying to get rid of him, but Napier would be a HUGE up-grade over Carter-Williams as the Hornets back-up point guard.

FINAL GRADE: CJ was extraordinary with his shot-making tonight. 10-17 over-all and 4-6 from deep. When he has it going he makes it look so effortless. Except for 3 3's as the half ended, Dame knew he was not shooting well. 18 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds make an amazing stat line. Nurk is such a tease. Dame and CJ set him up all night, and he had a chance for a big night against a much-diminished Howard. Chief finally came back to Earth, but his block was the play of the game. Collins had 10 boards, and he will really impact games when he develops his body more. 3 wins in a row on the road is a reason to celebrate. Portland is playing with house money as they head into Minnesota. We will see if there new-found defense can hold up against Butler, Wiggins and Towns. So far Jimmy Butler is the MVP of the Northwest Division so far. How should I grade this? Portland played well enough to have had an easy win, but snuck out of Charlotte knowing they deserved to pay for all their mistakes. C+