Jakob Pöltl performs solidly in his Toronto Raptors’ 99-85 win over the Portland Trail Blazers (NBA) with a solid performance. The Viennese player contributes six points and five rebounds to the success.
In addition, Pöltl once again shines with his defensive skills. Against Portland star Damian Lillard he manages a spectacular block, which is even celebrated by the Twitter account of the Raptors (see below).
Pöltl played in Portland with a patch above his left eye that covered a cut he had suffered in practice the day before,”An elbow, but nothing bad,”the 2.13-metre center assured before the match. The 22-year-old was replaced for the first time in Portland in the middle of the first quarter and was in action for 17:39 minutes.
Pöltl took a cut underneath his left eye as a souvenir from Oregon:”It was another elbow, already in the first half of the game,” the Viennese let us know,”he said,” that will be a blue eye,”and in the end our good defensive in the second quarter was decisive”, the ÖBV-Center commented on the match.
The blazers held at six points in the section were thus depleted of energy. Pöltl described his own performance as “okay”, as well as that of the Lakers in Los Angeles before him. He hopes that he will soon be able to “bring a very good game to the floor”.
With their great sprint before the break, the guests from Canada had quickly calmed down the Moda Center in Portland. The hall on the Willamette River is generally considered to be one of the loudest in the NBA. The Raptors remained completely safe after the change of sides on the way to their second success in a row. Kyle Lowry (19) and Lucas Nogueira (17) scored two-digit numbers for the winners next to DeMar DeRozan (25). Damian Lillard (36) acted as the hosts’ sole entertainer in the offensive.
At the end of the week, the Canadians will return home after twelve days. The Raptors will meet the Denver Nuggets (Night on Thursday) and Utah Jazz (Night on Saturday).