Dalano Banton once again plays the role of hero as the Blazers beat the Pelicans

The Portland Trail Blazers earned their third win of the season on Monday night in a game against a severely undermanned New Orleans Pelicans team. The Blazers prevailed 118-100 after Dalano Banton took a huge lead in the fourth quarter and single-handedly outscored the Pelicans.

Here are some of the key points of the victory.

Banton's exploits

Banton outscored New Orleans 20-18 in the final quarter. He scored all of his points with extremely efficient shooting of 8-9 from the field, making two of his three attempts from distance. He helped Portland open the game wide by pulling away from the injured Pelicans and finishing the game.

Banton made his first appearance in the fourth period and ensured he was never sent off. His late-game performance contributed significantly to Portland's eventual victory.

Win the third quarter

Entering this game, Portland had the worst third quarter point differential in the league at -11.0. However, the Blazers were able to clinch a 31:27 victory in the third quarter. Strong play from Jerami Grant, who made all three attempts in the quarter, and Toumani Camara, who had six points, including a stunning three-pointer, helped Portland turn the game around after a sluggish first half.

Struggles in the first half

Although Grant finished strongly in the second half, he only shot 1-for-10 in the first half and was a major contributor to the game's slow start. The Blazers never led the entire half and went into halftime trailing by seven points. Scoot Henderson also struggled, recording four turnovers in the half, including two early in his first stint on the pitch.

Ingram slow down

Brandon Ingram led all scorers with 27 in the game. His start seemed almost too much to handle. The Pelicans built a 26-13 lead midway through the first quarter on an Ingram jump shot that gave him 12 points in the game's opening minutes. He finished the first half with 16 and scored another 11 in the second half.

Portland's ability to slow, if not contain, Ingram later in the game gave them the advantage they needed to finally put away the undermanned Pelicans.

The big men impress

Deandre Ayton recorded his seventh double-double of the season with a 19-point, 13-rebound performance while making 9 of his 14 attempts from the field. The big man from the Bahamas leads the NBA in double-doubles, scoring one in every game but one.

Donovan Clingan also looked great. The defensive-minded rookie played 16 minutes, scored four points and added three rebounds. The highlight of his performance, however, were his three blocks. Clingan is now averaging 4.8 blocks per 36 minutes, leading the league among players who have played at least 100 minutes so far this season.

Where was Robert Williams?

With Ayton and Clingan looking so impressive, it was easy to forget that this game was supposed to mark the return of Robert Williams III to the lineup after nearly a year. However, Williams was inactive again, this time a healthy scratch. The center rotation for Portland has been a question this season. Have Ayton and Clingan played well enough to answer the question yet? Or was Williams not quite healthy enough to perform?

It remains to be seen where Williams will fit in the rotation going forward, but a DNP coach's decision isn't the warm reception many expected when his name was finally removed from the injury report.

Next

Box score

The Blazers face the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night at 5:00 p.m. PST.