The Portland Trail Blazers have the day off today as some of us have Easter Sunday plans (hopefully outdoors, as another beautiful Portland spring day tempts us from our homes).
While they’re not on the court today, the Blazers are no stranger to Easter games, and I wanted to take a quick look back at how those games panned out.
March 30, 1975 – Sonics 98, Blazers 88 (Easter Record: 0-1)
Portland’s first-ever Easter game came in their fourth season in Seattle, where Sonics forward Spencer Haywood – a five-time All-Star who finished as high as fifth in MVP voting – erupted for 40 points and 10 boards. Portland’s John Johnson (yes, really) led the Blazers with 24 points, and despite leading early and trailing by just 1 point going into the fourth, Portland slipped late and let the Sonics take the game by double digits.
March 26, 1978 – 76ers 104, Blazers 92 (0-2)
Less than a year removed from the Blazers beating them in the Finals, the 76ers were on the docket as the two teams faced off in Philly. The Blazers had lost Finals MVP Bill Walton to injury in late February, and a Portland club that started the year 50-10 ended the year just 8-14 without him. Tom Owens and George McGinnis led Portland and Philadelphia respectively, and the Blazers once again let a bad fourth quarter (being outscored 34-22) doom their chances at a win.
April 15, 1979 – Suns 101, Blazers 91 (0-3)
Portland’s first Playoff Easter game ended in yet another loss of both the game and the best-of-three first-round series… and Portland yet again let a bad fourth quarter (outscored 33-15) take them from leading 8 to losing by 10 in Phoenix. Five-time All-Star Paul Westphal led Phoenix with 26 as Portland had three players (Mo Lucas, Mychal Thompson, and Larry Steele) with 16 points apiece.
April 6, 1980 – Sonics 103, Blazers 86 (0-4)
More eerie echoes with a third consecutive Easter game, a second consecutive road playoff Easter game and series loss, and a fourth consecutive Easter loss, all on the road. This time it wasn’t the fourth quarter that did Portland in, but rather falling into a 15-pint halftime hole they couldn’t crawl out of. Two-time All-Star Gus Williams led Seattle with 21 points as Billy Ray Bates led Portland with 26. Tom Owens also had 16 boards for the Blazers,
April 11, 1982 – (OT) Blazers 116, Warriors 106 (1-4)
FINALLY! A win! It took overtime, but the Blazers closed out the game at home at Memorial Coliseum after letting yet another poor fourth quarter effort almost sink them. Purvis Short and four-time All-Star Bernard King paced Golden State with 21 points and Jim Paxson led Portland with 24. Fun fact: each team shot just a single three-pointer in an era where the league hadn’t yet figured out that three points was, in fact, worth more than two. It may not be a coincidence that their first win came at their first Easter game at home.
April 22, 1984 – Suns 106, Blazers 103 (1-5)
Another road playoff game, another loss to the Phoenix Suns (and a series loss too, but that came later as the format was now best-of-three). Portland got outscored by 10 in the fourth, continuing a strong trend of letting game slip late. Six-time All-Star and Suns legend Walter Davis led Phoenix with 27 points as Portland was led by Darnell Valentine’s best game of the season with 29.
April 7, 1985 – (OT) Lakers 135, Blazers 133 (1-6)
At this point in the exercise, I became convinced the Blazers were cursed on Easter road games. Though the Blazers fought valiantly to overcome an early 15-point deficit, they couldn’t overcome Magic Johnson’s 39 points even as Kiki Vandeweghe and Clyde Drexler ad 24 and 23 of their own for Portland. This was also Sam Bowie’s rookie season and he poured in 21 points and a season-high-tying 20 boards as he showed glimpses of the dominant player he would become… wait, what’s that?… oh… oh, okay…
April 19, 1987 – Blazers 144, Spurs 134 (2-6)
Another home Easter game… another WIN! Fully in the (early) Nellie-ball era of the 80s, the points were flowing and defense was optional. Johnny Dawkins led San Antonio with 26 points, and Kiki Vandeweghe led Portland with 26 as the Easter home = win, road = loss rule continued to be proven.
April 3, 1988 – Sonics 114, Blazers 100 (2-7)
On the road? Loss. Chalk it up. The X Man Xavier McDaniel led Seattle with 34 points, and Portland benefitted from a prime Kevin Duckworth chipping in 24 points of his own. Portland played Seattle relatively evenly in the second and fourth quarters, but got outscored by 16 in the first and third combined to more-or-less create the margin of loss.
April 11, 1993 – Blazers 127, Wolves 110 (3-7)
Fast forward a few years, but the pattern continues to hold: at home, the Blazers win these Easter games. On the road, they lose. Chuck Person came off the bench for Minnesota to lead then with 21, while an in-flux Blazers team was led by Terry Porter’s 20 and used a 38-22 third quarter to effectively put things away early.
April 3, 1994 – Blazers 109, Nets 105 (4-7)
THE CURSE IS BROKEN! The Blazers won a road Easter game! Derrick Coleman, fresh off his first and what would be his only All-Star game, led New Jersey with 29, and Portland got a vintage Clyde Drexler performance with 34 points on 12-19 shooting. It would be Clyde’s last full season in the Rose City before he was traded midway through the following season to Houston where he finally captured his long-pined-for championship.
April 23, 2000 – Blazers 91, Wolves 88 (5-7)
It was a new era of Blazers basketball, and if you could fast-forward and say this team had a 15-point lead in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals with 6 minutes to go in the game, you would also assume they would be making their next Finals appearance. Epic late-game collapses aside, Portland took care of business late in this game, holding Minnesota to just 13 fourth-quarter points. The Wolves were led by Malik Sealy’s 23 points, and the Blazers got 28 from Scottie Pippen.
April 15, 2001 – Lakers 105, Blazers 100 (5-8)
Two 50-win teams played a close game, but Shaq’s 33 and 18 for the Lakers proved too much. Portland was led by Rasheed Wallace with 28 as Portland fans were still stinging by what happened in the aforementioned Western Conference Finals at the hands of the Lakers.
April 20, 2014 – (OT) Blazers 122, Rockets 120 (6-8)
After the longest Easter game draught in franchise history, the next game was played as part of a playoff series that eventually ended a 14-year Blazers second-round playoff draught. Game 1 of the 2014 Western Conference First Round was the most dominant and important game ever played by LaMarcus Aldridge in any jersey, but certainly as a member of the Blazers. His 46 points and 18 boards seemed summoned from another dimension. He was putting people in the basket. He a dunking… WITH AUTHORITY. He demanded the ball and in his 45 minutes, he knew exactly what to do with it. For their part, Houston got 27 apiece from Dwight Howard and James Harden, both in their prime (maybe JUST outside of it for Howard) and both dominant in their own rights.
Let there be no question: this is the best Easter win the Blazers have ever had.
April 16, 2017 – Warriors 191, Blazers 109 (6-9)
We shall not speak of this playoffs series except to say the Blazers got waxed in four. For this game, Kevin Durant led Golden State with 32 and CJ McCollum took top billing with 42 for Portland. Dame also had 34… the problem was everyone else combined for 34 points. Yep: eight players, 34 points. That won’t win you a ballgame.
April 1, 2018 – Blazers 113, Grizzlies 98 (7-9)
A first-year Dillon Brooks led the Grizzlies with 28 in this one, but it wasn’t enough against a better Blazers team where Dame had 27 of his own. Portland blew this game open by outscoring their opponent 43-24 in the third as a playoff-bond team took care of business against a club headed to the lottery.
April 21, 2019 – Blazers 111, Thunder 98 (8-9)
This was the game before Dame’s “Wave Goodbye” game, and while not as memorable, any win in any playoff series counts just as much as another. CJ McCollum once again led Portland with 27 points and Paul George carried the load for Oklahoma City with 32. Fun fact: Zach Collins chipped in 10 points and was a relatively consistent contributor throughout the playoffs in this second year, especially in the second-round series against the Denver Nuggets where he averaged 21 minutes per game.
April 9, 2023 – Warriors 157, Blazers 101 (8-10)
Sorry… that sound you heard was just my neck snapping as I did an OCTUPLE take on the box score. I don’t care if it’s the last game of the season: being beaten by 56 points is nasty work. Golden State had a FIFTY-FIVE point first quarter, won every period, and thoroughly embarrassed a Blazers team who were rolling with Skylar Mays and Kevin Knox in the starting lineup. The Warriors were predictably led by Steph Curry with 26 points in just 22 minutes, and the Blazers got 21 points from the aforementioned Mays. Random note: Portland’s Chance Comanche played his first and only NBA game, logging 21 minutes and scoring 7 points.
This was the Blazers’ last Easter game… and my goodness, was it forgottable.
Portland Trail Blazers Record on Easter: 8-10
Dominant LMA playoff performances: 1
The lesson for NBA schedulers is simple, and it’s this: PLEASE don’t mark the Blazers down for an Easter road game.