NBA randomness gives and takes away.
The Portland Trail Blazers, after disrupting Philadelphia on Thursday with most of its outsiders, including Damian Lillard, failed to muster the same level of efficiency, energy and offensive punch to avoid Saturday’s defeat in New York, by 110-99.
In a logical world, the results of these two games would have been reversed, but neither Lillard’s absence on Thursday nor his presence on Saturday could affect the wins or losses during that three-day stretch.
Lillard, who lost Thursday’s victory by 121-105 in the 76ers (16-7) with an abdominal strain, looked new on Saturday. Despite receiving treatment while on the sideline, and at least sometimes shivering in pain after being bumped during the game, Lillard scored 29 points out of 10 out of 20 shots, made 6 out of 12 trios and added nine rebounds and four assists.
“I think a few days off were good for my abdominal area,” said Lillard.
But their game was not enough to lift the Blazers’ attack, which had the second lowest score of the season (Portland lost 111 to 87 to Indiana on January 14). To New York credit, he came in Saturday with the league’s seventh best defensive ranking (109.8).
Portland threw 41.6% of the field, 36.2% in three and 50% in the free throw line.
“There is not one thing in particular, if you look at the analysis, that everyone does, that really stands out besides the fact that the teams do not kick the ball well, which is ultimately the best metric to have”, Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts said when asked about the Knicks’ defense. “What I see is a team that plays a lot, plays physically, is active, is aggressive. They go after missing balls. They are an obstinate defensive team. “
WHAT DOES IT MEAN
The Blazers (12-10) had the opportunity to score 4-2 on a bumpy trip, but failed to do so against a team below 0.500 Knicks now 11-13. This is disappointing for the Blazers. But due to the injury problems of this team, leaving the trip in 3-3 was not so bad.
“It’s a little disappointing not to be able to receive this one tonight,” said Lillard. “We really wanted to do it, and it would have been a great trip for us, but we didn’t, so let’s go to the next one.”
The defeat, along with NBA results at the end of the day, left the Blazers tied with Denver in sixth place at the Western Conference.
The Nuggets lost 119-114 in Sacramento (11-11) on Saturday night.
It’s over when …
The Blazers lost 106-92 with 4:02 remaining in the fourth period and looked lost. That was before Lillard hit a three and Gary Trent Jr. scored in a short jump to make the score 106-97 with 2:49 remaining. From then on, however, the Blazers allowed only four points, but only managed to score two in Robert Covington’s free throws.
The parade of missed shots went like this:
Trent missed a three, Enes Kanter had the rebound, but he missed a tray.
Covington missed a three, Trent had the offensive rebound, so he missed a three.
Rodney Hood missed a jump and, in the next Blazers possession, Lillard missed a three.
Despite all these missed opportunities, because the Knicks also struggled to score, the Blazers still had a chance to lose 106-99 with 27.7 seconds remaining. But Lillard missed a three again, and that led to intentional inlay, and that was it.
“We just didn’t get it right in the second half,” said Covington. “I think it was an important key. We looked great, but it was a pity that they didn’t get in. “
Despite the Blazers’ poor performance in the home stretch, Stotts said he was more disappointed with the team’s sloppy game, which resulted in an expensive upset in the fourth quarter.
Lillard, like Stotts, gave credit to the New York defense.
“I thought they were aggressive,” said Lillard. “It was obvious that they wanted to pay a lot of attention to the ball. I think they worked hard. They had a good game plan. “
PRESENTED AND SHOWN
Kanter was solid as usual with 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Covington had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Anfernee Simons left the bench for 18 very efficient minutes. He made 4 of 8 shots, including 3 of 6 trios for 12 points and also had three assists.
New York striker Julius Randle had 22 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Guard Elfrid Payton made 10 of 19 shots for 22 points and added seven rebounds and four assists.
SHOWN AND FIZZLED
Hood and Carmelo Anthony fought for the Blazers. Hood started and in 34 minutes he made 3 of 10 shots, including 1 of 6 trios to end with seven points and a rebound.
Anthony came off the bench to play 17 minutes. He made 1 of 8 shots for two points and had three rebounds on his return to New York.
The Blazers’ defense allowed New York, which is not a good three-point pitch team, to hit 43.3%. The Knicks entered the game ranked 25th in the percentage of three points (35%).
NEXT (Blazers Schedule)
Portland returns home for three games starting on Tuesday against Orlando (9-14), followed by games on Thursday against Philadelphia and Friday against Cleveland (10-13).
– Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress(Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).
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