Portland Trail Blazers: Longest winning streaks in franchise history
11 games: 4 times
Getting past Cleveland on Thursday will help the 2018 Blazers reach a mark that the franchise has reached only four times before. Nevertheless, it would still be a major accomplishment.
The first 11-game streak kicked off the 1990-91 season, lasting from Nov. 2-25. Officially, this streak is the backend of a 15-game run of regular season wins. The Blazers closed out the 1989-90 season by taking four straight, starting with a 93-85 win at the Los Angeles Clippers on Apr. 16, 1990.
Portland’s first two games of 1990-91 were sluggish efforts, only scoring in the 90s in both games. However, their offense kicked into gear for the rest of the streak. The Blazers managed to average 133.3 points per game and shoot 52.4 percent from 3-point range in the later nine games of the run. The last game of their streak saw them score 49 points in the first quarter against the San Antonio Spurs.
Despite this bout of excellence, it wasn’t even the longest streak that season for the eventual Pacific Division champions.
The second instance, running from Feb. 28 through Mar. 20, 1997, was a more modest effort. P.J. Carliesimo’s team averaged “only” 104.9 points per game compared to their predecessors seven years prior. Kenny Anderson led the charge, averaging 18.2 points and 8.3 assists per game during the run.
The 1997 Blazers finished the year 49-33 and were ousted in the first round by the Los Angeles Lakers 3-1.
Rip City would do it again in 2000, with a streak lasting from Feb. 4-27. They went 12-2 on the month overall. All five starters averaged double-figures during the streak, led by Steve Smith‘s 15.3 points per game. Arvydas Sabonis followed him by averaging 15.2 points along with 8.5 rebounds per game.
The 2000 Blazers went 14-12 the rest of the season. However, they managed to fight their way to the Western Conference Finals for a meeting with the Lakers. Sadly for Portland, the hard-fought seven-game series went to LA. They would go on to claim their first title in 12 seasons by beating the Indiana Pacers 4-2.
Portland’s most recent 11-game winning streak occurred in 2013, running from Nov. 8-25. It was the franchise’s latest double-digit streak until their current run.
LaMarcus Aldridge went on a tear during this run, averaging 20.1 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. He was backed up by then-reigning Rookie Of The Year Damian Lillard. Lillard averaged 18.6 points and 6.4 assists per game. Wesley Matthews added 17.3 points per game while knocking down 50.7 percent of his 3-pointers during the streak.