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Portland Trailblazers
The Portland Trail Blazers started out extremely slow, failing to score over the first four minutes. Their halfcourt offense was abysmal, as illustrated in a shot-clock violation to begin the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Portland would get back into contention, thanks to solid play by Dante Cunningham, Nicolas Batum, and LaMarcus Aldridge but nothing could be sustained, as Kevin Durant and James Harden stole the show and get the Thunder’s hot streak going.
The Blazers finished the first quarter on a 26-11 run after falling behind 15-2 early, and notched a 41-all tie at halftime. But their halfcourt offense rarely produced something positive: either three-pointers were clanged with the shot-clock winding down or turnovers were committed. They was awful, with little energy, and quite lucky to be in the game. Batum made three dunks, Aldridge grabbed 6 rebounds, dished 4 assists, and swiped 3 steals, and Cunningham hit five jumpers, but other than that Portland was hopeless and unwatchable.
Outside of that furious rally to end the first, when the Blazers appeared to have some life they metaphorically and literally threw away their chances of pulling out a victory. They took only two shots over the first four minutes of the third period because five lazy turnovers were committed. All were either lazy lob passes into the paint or floating passes towards the rim. Still, despite another slow start, Portland managed to take the lead with five consecutive field goals midway through the third, the final a jumper by Cunningham to notch a new career-high of 12 points and give his Blazers a 55-53 advantage.
The game was ugly, but if Portland could ugly it up enough and play solid defense, a win would be attainable. But, as they reverted back to how they began the first and third quarters, points were hard to come by, their defense suffered and the amount of turnovers ballooned. A two-point advantage after three quarters transformed into a four-point deficit not two minutes into the final quarter. Harden scored the final three of the quick 6-0 run and scored the next eight Oklahoma City points. For those eight, he, as one of the best three-point shooter in the NBA, hit two uncovered threes, and then streamed down the right side for a uncontested dunk, suddenly giving the Thunder a eleven-point lead.
While Oklahoma City scored 14 points over the first six minutes of the fourth, Portland had a grand total of two, a layup by Jerryd Bayless. And over that span, four turnovers were committed, three three-pointers were badly missed, and three more shots were blocked.
The Blazers were a dreadful 1-18 from three-point range when Andre Miller, “of all people,” in the words of announcer Mike Barrett, canned just his twelfth three-pointer of the season. This unlikely three was followed by a mid-range jumper off a screen, a hard-earned layup, and a free-throw by Miller to pull Portland within five as the clock ticked near the four-minute mark. This deficit would usually be quite easy to overcome with two minutes left, let alone four, but not for these Blazers. Unless Brandon Roy could jump out of his suit, put on the uniform, and take the reigns, this Portland team would have much of a chance.
Their chance of coming back was squashed as Durant toyed with the team that could have drafted him in 2007, draining a step-back two over Batum and a three-pointer against the Frenchman to put the exclamation points on the win and send the Blazers fans to the exits.
This loss was sickening, but not all that surprising. Durant, who scored 33 effortless points, has been playing as well as anyone in the league. Their core is very youthful, their roster isn’t depleted or full of woefully inconsistent shooters. They have a go-to guy and complimentary pieces that play off him very well. They can run a set offense, torch the opposition in transition with regularity, take advantage of turnovers, and play stifling defense. While they are already looking ahead, hoping to extend their now 6-game winning streak, Portland, dog-tired, over-matched, and out-of-sync, can’t wait for the All-Star break and Brandon Roy’s return.
The Blazers have been through more this season than some franchises have in the past five years. They have battled through injuries, beaten teams presumed better, and are in the playoff race, but Roy’s is catching up with them. They have played the most games in the NBA, 54, and have played 13 of the last 14 games without him. And, though the Blazers have won five games in his stead, their lack of a halfcourt offense, consistent energy, and a go-to guy has officially caught up with them, as illustrated in this forgettable defeat at the hands of the Thunder, whom they now look up to in the tight-knit Western Conference.
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Game Notes:
Aldridge had 15 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. He was harassed all night by the Thunder’s hounding defense. He only took 10 shots. This was because he hesitated multiple times and wasn’t allowed to get deep position very often.
Miller scored 22 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and dished 6 assists.
Batum added 12 points, but only three came in the second half.
Cunningham had the best game of his career, scoring 14 points on 7-12 shooting.
Portland shot 40 percent from the field, made just 3-20 three-pointers, and attempted only 14 free-throws. They also committed 20 turnovers that resulted in 28 Thunder points.
Steve Blake and Rudy Fernandez were a combined 0-10 from three-point land.
The Blazers streak of 44 straight wins when holding their opponent to 90 points or less was snapped. Oklahoma City scored 89 points.
Durant scored 33 points in 34 minutes and snatched 11 rebounds. He has now scored 25-plus points in 25 consecutive games.
Jeff Green added 17 points and Harden chipped in 13 big points.
In his postgame interview, Blazers head coach Nate McMillan: “It was a bad effort tonight. We couldn’t make a shot. We weren’t sharp.”
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