Portland dismantles Miami to rack up its fourth straight NBA win

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Portland Trail Blazers’ perfect NBA regular-season week continued after cooling off the Miami Heat, 127-110, on Jan. 23, 2026, at the Moda Center in Oregon.

Fresh off convincing wins over the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers, the Trail Blazers didn’t lose a step and immediately rained down on the Heat with a 38-point first-quarter outburst.

Spearheaded by the red-hot Shaedon Sharpe, who attacked the Miami interior with relentless drives, Portland immediately stole the momentum but had to endure a last-minute offensive avalanche from the Heat that pulled them to within a single-digit deficit heading into the second frame, 38-31.

Those baskets from Norman Powell and Simone Fontecchio helped the Heat restore order, as they closed the gap to just a point at the half, 64-63.

Just when Miami thought they could replicate their performance against the Kings, a rejuvenated Portland squad stunned them in the second half, breezing through the game off a balanced offensive attack from Deni Avdija, Caleb Love, and Toumani Camara.

The trio ignited the Trail Blazers’ demoralizing 17-4 start, including another icebreaker in the final three minutes when Miami attempted to keep the game close again.

Bam Adebayo tried his best to keep the Heat at bay, as the veteran center knocked down some huge baskets to trim Portland’s lead to within 9-12 points.

Unfortunately, Portland’s adjustment on the defensive end took a toll on Miami, especially when they shifted to a 1-2-2 zone that prevented Powell from exploiting his drive-and-kick game.

As a result of the mixed zone coverage, Portland held the Heat to their lowest-scoring quarter in the fourth with only 18 points and prevented any late comeback.

Sharpe was fantastic for the rolling Trail Blazers and top-scored the game with 27 points built from an efficient 11-of-21 shooting from the field.

Aside from his scoring prowess, Sharpe also stuffed the stat sheet, supplying seven rebounds, four steals, and three assists.

Backstopping the athletic shooting guard were Avdija and Love, who each dropped 20 markers, while Camara and Jrue Holiday chipped in 16 and 15 markers, respectively.

The Trail Blazers will gun for their fifth consecutive NBA dub today against the Toronto Raptors in an inter-conference battle, while the Heat seek to regroup on Jan. 25 against the Utah Jazz.