O Portland Trail Blazers he looked slow and beside himself Thursday, fighting at both ends of the court on the way to an 111-87 defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers at Moda Center.
The night after a record performance beyond the arc, Portland only managed to hit an insignificant 36% of the ground (along with just 30% of the depths), and its 87 points are by far the team’s lowest output of the season.
But the real disappointment of the night came in the middle of the third quarter, when Jusuf Nurkic left the game with what was later announced as a fractured right wrist, apparently suffered after hitting the ball badly in defense, although the exact moment yet be determined. Details on the extent of the break along with any notion of recovery time will come out soon, but this is undoubtedly a huge blow for a team that has expectations of competing until the playoffs.
From the start, it should be evident that storm clouds were forming. Playing the second night in a row, and especially after Wednesday’s barn burner against the Kings, where Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum had to fight tooth and nail for 85 minutes combined, you would have to wonder if fatigue would be one factor tonight. At first, at least, it didn’t seem to be the case, as the two teams struggled until they were paralyzed in the first quarter, preparing what appeared to be another tense journey down the ulcer’s throat.
It quickly became anything but. Deciding to give his most valuable players a rest, Terry Stotts opened the second period with a lineup by Anfernee Simons, Gary Trent Jr., Rodney Hood, Carmelo Anthony and Enes Kanter, leaving Lillard and McCollum to walk the pine together for nearly five minutes. In those five minutes, the Blazers were defeated 12-2 with Doug McDermott leaving the bench on fire by the Pacers. The second unit found no offensive rhythm, settling for contested isolations by Carmelo Anthony and three attempts by Ave Maria. By the time McCollum and Lillard checked in again, with 4:57 left for the break, Indiana had a 12 point lead and appeared to be in full control.
From there, things went from bad to worse. Portland, who has been among the league leaders in caring for basketball, could not care for the stone if he were his mother, being stripped 7 times in the first half and turning the ball more than 10 times while the Pacer’s advantage increased by as much as 25 points . Domantas Sabonis gave fans flashbacks from his father, giving the crossbar a goal towards 23 points, 15 bags and 5 assists.
The Blazers ran a few runs in the second half to at least make things look respectable, and came close to 11 at the end of the third period, but another resounding comeback was simply not among them.
Points Box
What is the next
The Blazers will have a day off before hosting the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night at 7 pm Pacific time.