[Post Game Thread] The Portland Trail Blazers (20-22) defeat the Atlanta Hawks (20-23) 117-101
January 16, 2026
[Post Game Thread] The Portland Trail Blazers (20-22) defeat the Atlanta Hawks (20-23) 117-101
40 comments
Shoutout to Rupes tonight. We don’t win without the shots he hit at critical times. Him, Love, and Duop went on that big run to pull us back into the game.
Shout out Rayan Rupert! Dudes fallen out of the rotation this year in favor of our two way guys and when given an opportunity tonight came up huge on both ends of the floor. Let’s hope he keeps building on it!
Rayan Rupert masterclass. I used to dream of these days.
Finally a game I don’t leave with a sore sphincter!!
This was the third largest margin of victory for the Blazers this season.
Great decision by Tiago to give our bad shooting to the Hawks at the end of the 3rd
Game notes:
* Wow what a second half. That run in the third and fourth quarter by the bench was CRAZY – 23-8 run by the end of the bench is insane. Rupes (see below), Reath hitting two threes and a putback and getting two blocks, RW covering everything up on defense, and Love hitting some fearless shots, the bench just won us the game (who would have thought that a Love/Rupert/Tou/Reath/RW lineup would be able to do THAT?)
* Shout out to Rupert who had the best game of his career. 3/4 from three, a bunch of deflections on defense (I’ve been critical of him for not being impactful enough with his length on defense but he was AWESOME tonight), and a couple good finishes on fastbreaks and a cut. Awesome to see from him.
* Jrue started the game with a nice drive and kick to a wide open three which I think set the tone. He was aggressive getting to the paint the entire game and generated a ton of open looks, mst of which didn’t fall. But great to see him moving well and having a great impact on both ends of the floor. I also thought that having him on the floor defensively really helped Toumani on that end – Tou hounded them into two deflections in the backcourt and seemed a bit more opportunistic with his “enhancing.”
* Great to have JG back – really stabilized the second unit, provided some scoring, and also we really missed his versatility on defense.
* Shae with a great scoring game, made his shots (two really impressive drives bully Dyson to the rim) and was alright defensively. Did exactly what we needed him to do with no Deni.
* Tou did a fantastic job guarding JJ even though he didn’t make his shots.
* Defense was kinda subpar in the first half but the bench lineup to end the third and begin the fourth quarter really ratcheted up the defense and went on a huge run. It also helps when you make some shots because up until like the late third quarter we were shooting like 22% from three.
* Thought DC did too much drifting on the perimeter in the first half. His threes should be coming in like pick and pop or trailing in semi-transition, and otherwise he should be near the rim. However I thought he was WAY more impactful in the second half – grabbing a bunch of offensive rebounds, had a couple good passes out of the short roll, and generally looked more involved. This was key today in a game where they struggled to shoot for most of the game, and also since Okongwu is a bad rebounder.
* Helps the the Hawks shot like 1/15 from three in the fourth quarter and Okongwu missed about 1000 open looks from three on pick and pops. But hey I’m not complaining. We did a great job against Jalen Johnson and really erased him from the game (kinda sad we didn’t get a Deni vs. JJ matchup D: ) I’m kinda surprised we didn’t see DC guarding Dyson with the way Dyson has struggled to shoot the ball lately (basically all of his points have been at the rim) but Okongwu didn’t make us pay.
* Luke Kennard is a total disaster on defense. Yikes.
Rupes balling makes me happy
Kudos to the young guys for going on that run. Wouldn’t have won it without their grit and chemistry!
Thank you for Shaedon Sharpe. Thank you the early 4th quarter bench unit. Special shout out to Rupes. God bless the Portland Trail Blazers
Thanks CJ
Throwing the ball up and down while your feet are planted is not a violation
Pretty nice that we have 2 extra rotation pieces available to us, Sidy and Caleb, that have developed while our vets have been injured, and we will probably be a better team for it going forward. Hell, maybe even 3 depending on how view Rupes, he was also big time tonight.
Above all though its so nice to have Jrue and JG back. They have been so missed.
Hooray! Rupert had a great game
At halftime we were 18% from 3. We ended at 30% and won
It was the bench but particularly Caleb & Rupes who turned the tide.
That 4th quarter run was INSANE. Who would’ve expected that lineup to put up those numbers??
Very complete Shae game tonight. Loved the drives and thought he settled for fewer mid rangers, perfect from the line and 40% from three. Only blemish was the TOs, but I liked the flashes I saw in his handle!
Toumani held Jalen Johnson to 12 points 💀 DENI COULD NEVER 😈
It’s ludicrous how weak the east is compared to the west.
CJ hugging Brooke during the interview 🥲
Bench mob was such a jolt of excitement
God I hope CJ comes back to finish out in Portland. Seeing how much respect he showed everyone and coming up to everyone before heading out. He loves Portland and it shows.
Dame smiling because he knows he is going to get some wine tonight.
Jerami know something we don’t? =(
This sucks, I’m next door building Paw Patrol and could barely see any updates! But hey, at least it’s a win!
Nice to have JG back
Man closing the game Grant and Holiday just make it feel like there are adults in the room.
rupert’s best game so far. good team effort all around with a bunch of guys contributing to close that game our relatively comfortably
feels great to have jrue and jerami back in the absence of deni
shoutout to the geniuses in the game thread yelling to trade Toumani and saying we were gonna lose up 10 with 3 mins left
Also, come home CJ for the final years. We’ll welcome ya back.
Man I can’t wait to see this team fully healthy. We’re gonna be so deadly. I LOVE MY CHUD LIFE
I’m happy I’m not responsible for making contract decisions. Idk what we are going to do at deadline and with the two way deals. Everyone is so likable and slowly coming into their own as a player.
It will be sad to see some of these guys leave, but that’s the business I suppose.
Go Blazers man
You’re telling me next game we might have Deni, Jrue, and Jerami all in the lineup? I’ve prayed for times like this
does rupert deserve more of a look from us going forward? i had kinda written him off
Someone check on Jerami. Is he alright?
We need a 5th head band guy so we can throw out all 5 at once.
Toumani would normally get the box tonight but I think Duop earned it with some timely blocks. Good stuff!
Am I drinking the tea again or is this squad legit? I thought I wasn’t gonna fall for the Calebs and Sidys that come and go on this team but these guys have made a believer out of me. Rupes has added himself to the list of guys working hard to prove me wrong. This is the worst our injury luck has been in years and yet we’re more competitive than we’ve been since Dame was fully healthy. I don’t get it, but I don’t have to, I’m all the way in.
40 comments
Shoutout to Rupes tonight. We don’t win without the shots he hit at critical times. Him, Love, and Duop went on that big run to pull us back into the game.
Shout out Rayan Rupert! Dudes fallen out of the rotation this year in favor of our two way guys and when given an opportunity tonight came up huge on both ends of the floor. Let’s hope he keeps building on it!
Rayan Rupert masterclass. I used to dream of these days.
Finally a game I don’t leave with a sore sphincter!!
This was the third largest margin of victory for the Blazers this season.
Great decision by Tiago to give our bad shooting to the Hawks at the end of the 3rd
Game notes:
* Wow what a second half. That run in the third and fourth quarter by the bench was CRAZY – 23-8 run by the end of the bench is insane. Rupes (see below), Reath hitting two threes and a putback and getting two blocks, RW covering everything up on defense, and Love hitting some fearless shots, the bench just won us the game (who would have thought that a Love/Rupert/Tou/Reath/RW lineup would be able to do THAT?)
* Shout out to Rupert who had the best game of his career. 3/4 from three, a bunch of deflections on defense (I’ve been critical of him for not being impactful enough with his length on defense but he was AWESOME tonight), and a couple good finishes on fastbreaks and a cut. Awesome to see from him.
* Jrue started the game with a nice drive and kick to a wide open three which I think set the tone. He was aggressive getting to the paint the entire game and generated a ton of open looks, mst of which didn’t fall. But great to see him moving well and having a great impact on both ends of the floor. I also thought that having him on the floor defensively really helped Toumani on that end – Tou hounded them into two deflections in the backcourt and seemed a bit more opportunistic with his “enhancing.”
* Great to have JG back – really stabilized the second unit, provided some scoring, and also we really missed his versatility on defense.
* Shae with a great scoring game, made his shots (two really impressive drives bully Dyson to the rim) and was alright defensively. Did exactly what we needed him to do with no Deni.
* Tou did a fantastic job guarding JJ even though he didn’t make his shots.
* Defense was kinda subpar in the first half but the bench lineup to end the third and begin the fourth quarter really ratcheted up the defense and went on a huge run. It also helps when you make some shots because up until like the late third quarter we were shooting like 22% from three.
* Thought DC did too much drifting on the perimeter in the first half. His threes should be coming in like pick and pop or trailing in semi-transition, and otherwise he should be near the rim. However I thought he was WAY more impactful in the second half – grabbing a bunch of offensive rebounds, had a couple good passes out of the short roll, and generally looked more involved. This was key today in a game where they struggled to shoot for most of the game, and also since Okongwu is a bad rebounder.
* Helps the the Hawks shot like 1/15 from three in the fourth quarter and Okongwu missed about 1000 open looks from three on pick and pops. But hey I’m not complaining. We did a great job against Jalen Johnson and really erased him from the game (kinda sad we didn’t get a Deni vs. JJ matchup D: ) I’m kinda surprised we didn’t see DC guarding Dyson with the way Dyson has struggled to shoot the ball lately (basically all of his points have been at the rim) but Okongwu didn’t make us pay.
* Luke Kennard is a total disaster on defense. Yikes.
Rupes balling makes me happy
Kudos to the young guys for going on that run. Wouldn’t have won it without their grit and chemistry!
Thank you for Shaedon Sharpe. Thank you the early 4th quarter bench unit. Special shout out to Rupes. God bless the Portland Trail Blazers
Thanks CJ
Throwing the ball up and down while your feet are planted is not a violation
Pretty nice that we have 2 extra rotation pieces available to us, Sidy and Caleb, that have developed while our vets have been injured, and we will probably be a better team for it going forward. Hell, maybe even 3 depending on how view Rupes, he was also big time tonight.
Above all though its so nice to have Jrue and JG back. They have been so missed.
Hooray! Rupert had a great game
At halftime we were 18% from 3. We ended at 30% and won
It was the bench but particularly Caleb & Rupes who turned the tide.
That 4th quarter run was INSANE. Who would’ve expected that lineup to put up those numbers??
Very complete Shae game tonight. Loved the drives and thought he settled for fewer mid rangers, perfect from the line and 40% from three. Only blemish was the TOs, but I liked the flashes I saw in his handle!
Toumani held Jalen Johnson to 12 points 💀 DENI COULD NEVER 😈
It’s ludicrous how weak the east is compared to the west.
CJ hugging Brooke during the interview 🥲
Bench mob was such a jolt of excitement
God I hope CJ comes back to finish out in Portland. Seeing how much respect he showed everyone and coming up to everyone before heading out. He loves Portland and it shows.
Dame smiling because he knows he is going to get some wine tonight.
Jerami know something we don’t? =(
This sucks, I’m next door building Paw Patrol and could barely see any updates! But hey, at least it’s a win!
Nice to have JG back
Man closing the game Grant and Holiday just make it feel like there are adults in the room.
rupert’s best game so far. good team effort all around with a bunch of guys contributing to close that game our relatively comfortably
feels great to have jrue and jerami back in the absence of deni
shoutout to the geniuses in the game thread yelling to trade Toumani and saying we were gonna lose up 10 with 3 mins left
Also, come home CJ for the final years. We’ll welcome ya back.
Man I can’t wait to see this team fully healthy. We’re gonna be so deadly. I LOVE MY CHUD LIFE
I’m happy I’m not responsible for making contract decisions. Idk what we are going to do at deadline and with the two way deals. Everyone is so likable and slowly coming into their own as a player.
It will be sad to see some of these guys leave, but that’s the business I suppose.
Go Blazers man
You’re telling me next game we might have Deni, Jrue, and Jerami all in the lineup? I’ve prayed for times like this
does rupert deserve more of a look from us going forward? i had kinda written him off
Someone check on Jerami. Is he alright?
We need a 5th head band guy so we can throw out all 5 at once.
Toumani would normally get the box tonight but I think Duop earned it with some timely blocks. Good stuff!
Am I drinking the tea again or is this squad legit? I thought I wasn’t gonna fall for the Calebs and Sidys that come and go on this team but these guys have made a believer out of me. Rupes has added himself to the list of guys working hard to prove me wrong. This is the worst our injury luck has been in years and yet we’re more competitive than we’ve been since Dame was fully healthy. I don’t get it, but I don’t have to, I’m all the way in.
You can tell CJ really misses us