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the Portland Trail Blazers looked slow and shabby on Thursday, struggling on both sides of the court on the way to a 111-87 rout at the hands of the Indiana Pacers at the Moda Center.
The night following a record-breaking performance beyond the arc, Portland only managed to shoot 36 percent from the ground (with just 30 percent depth), and their 87 points are by far the lowest yield of the team of the season.
But the real disappointment of the evening came in the middle of the third quarter when Jusuf Nurkic left the game with what was later announced as a broken right wrist, apparently suffered after taking a nasty blow to the ball in defense, although the exact timing is yet to be determined. Details on the extent of the break as well as any notion of recovery time will be released soon, but it is undoubtedly a blow to a team hoping to compete deep in the playoffs.
From the start, it should have been obvious that thunderstorm clouds were brewing. Playing on the second night of a game 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, one would have to wonder if fatigue is on him. would do. be a factor tonight. At first, at least, it didn’t appear to be the case, as the two teams fought to a standstill in the first quarter, setting up what appeared to be another tense journey down the ravine of the ulcer.
It quickly became anything but. Choosing to give his most valuable players a rest, Terry Stotts opened the second period with a lineup from Anfernee Simons, Gary Trent Jr., Rodney Hood, Carmelo Anthony and Enes Kanter, leaving Lillard and McCollum to ride the pine together for almost five minutes. In those five minutes, the Blazers were outscored 12-2 as Doug McDermott came off the bench on fire for the Pacers. The second unit found no offensive rhythm, settling for contested isolations of Carmelo Anthony and three attempts at Hail Mary. By the time McCollum and later Lillard returned with 4:57 left in the half, Indiana was holding 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’s leaders in taking care of basketball, couldn’t take care of the rock if it was his mother, getting stripped 7 times in the first half and returning the ball 10 times while the leader of the Pacer swelled up to 25 points. Domantas Sabonis gave fans flashbacks of his father, putting a show in the post on his way to 23 points, 15 tables and 5 assists.
The Blazers put in a few runs in the second half to at least make things respectable, and came close to 11 at the end of the third quarter, but another roaring comeback just wasn’t in them.
The score of the box
And after
The Blazers will get a day off before they host the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night at 7 p.m. PT.
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