Duke basketball: Gary Trent Jr. shines as Trail Blazers pick up major victory

Former Duke basketball star Gary Trent Jr. showed off his variety of skills in the Portland Trail Blazers opening game in the NBA’s restart.

Although still relatively unknown in the mainstream talk of the NBA, Gary Trent Jr. is one of the best shooters in the league and that was on display on Friday evening.

The Portland Trail Blazers are looking for a major push for the playoffs as the NBA is beginning to restart its season in Orlando, Florida.

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Portland was facing the team its looking up in the standings, the Memphis Grizzlies, and the two teams delivered with one of the most entraining games of the weekend.

Trailing Memphis by three and a half games entering the games, a lackluster third quarter found the Blazers trailing entering the final frame but a comeback would force overtime and eventually lead to a Portland victory, 140-135.

Gary Trent Jr. posted 17 points off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and a scorching 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Ironically, normally an automatic free throw shooter, the former Blue Devil only made 3-of-5 from the charity stripe.

Trent Jr. also posted one rebound, two assists, and one block while recording a game-high +/- of +20 in 26 minutes.

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On the flip side for the Memphis Grizzlies, Trent Jr.’s teammate in Durham, Grayson Allen, also had a very productive game with five points in 22 minutes in addition to two rebounds and two steals.

Allen was 2-of-4 from the field, made his only 3-point attempt, but missed his lone attempt from the free throw line.

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Things will not get any easier for the Portland Trail Blazers as they will face the Boston Celtics on Sunday, August 2 at 3:30pm EST on ABC while the Memphis Grizzlies square off against the San Antonio Spurs at 4:00pm EST on Sunday afternoon.