The Portland Trail Blazers had good reasons to perform poorly against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.
Important players were absent. Two came back after a period of absence. The Blazers were finishing up a five-game trip at the time.
The Blazers, however, arrived with enough vigor and talent to prevail. But after a scorching third quarter, the Pacers maintained their lead and won 121-114.
With a season-high 30 points and 6 of 12 three-pointers, Anfernee Simons led the Blazers. In a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night, he recovered from a 2-of-14 shooting effort to score five points.
At the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Blazers coach Chauncey Billups told reporters, “I thought Ant was good.” All night long, he was hostile. He was firing. They made some blunders down there, and he made them pay for them.
However, Simons failed to make two late free shots that would have aided the Blazers.
After a competitive game, the Pacers took a 13-point advantage in the third quarter. However, early in the fourth quarter, the Blazers pulled even with an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 96-94.
The Blazers rallied once more to get within 115-109 with less than two minutes left after the Pacers pushed back to take an 11-point lead.
However, Simons missed two free throws with 1:05 left. With 40 seconds remaining, Tyrese Haliburton made a jumper to give the Pacers a 117-109 lead.
After missing three games, Scoot Henderson made a comeback and finished with a team-high nine assists and 17 points. Deandre Ayton scored 16 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in his first game since November 8.
The Pacers were led by Pascal Siakam, who finished with 29 points and seven rebounds. Haliburton contributed 10 assists and 28 points.
Despite shooting 50.6% from the field and 45.6% from three-point range (16 of 35), which was their second-highest shooting percentage of the season, and limiting turnovers (14) the Blazers lost this game.
They tied a season-high of 31 assists and had good ball movement as well.
Billups stated, “I felt our guys did a good job of sharing the ball.” That’s huge, getting 31 assists in this game.
On Wednesday, November 27, 2024, in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, guard Anfernee Simons (1) of the Portland Trail Blazers shoots over guard Quenton Jackson (29) of the Indiana Pacers. (Photo by Michael Conroy/AP) APAP
However, the Blazers only made 10 of 17 (58.8%) free throws, compared to 16 of 20 (80%) for the Pacers.
The Blazers only managed 19 second-chance points, while Indiana, who shot 48.4% from the field, used 20 offensive rebounds—the most Portland has given up this season—to score 24 points.
According to Billups, it wasn’t the attacking side for us. The rebounding was the cause.
Ultimately, the Pacers scored 15 fast-break points compared to the Blazers’ four.
The Blazers have struggled with defensive rebounding throughout the season. The unavailability of backup centers Robert Williams III (concussion) and Donovan Clingan (knee) exacerbated the problem.
As was to be expected, the Blazers got off to a strong start. They led 31-26 after shooting 52.5% from the field in the first quarter, including 6 of 13 (46.2%) three-pointers. They were more careless in the second quarter, giving up the ball six times, which allowed the Pacers to score nine points. The score was 60-60 at the half.
Billups remarked, “I’m proud of the effort.” My boys gave it their all.
IMPORTANCE OF IT
With a difficult defeat at the Pacers (9-10), who have now won three straight games, the Blazers (7-12) ended a 1-4 trip.
Not a grant
The Blazers had to play without forwards Jerami Grant (knee) and Kris Murray (sternum), as well as Williams and Clingan, but they welcomed back Ayton and Henderson.
The Pacers scored 54 points in the paint as opposed to the Blazers’ 42 thanks to the absence of their two backup centers.
UPCOMING
At 7 p.m. on Friday, the Blazers take on the Sacramento Kings.
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Aaron J. Fentress | [email protected]|@AaronJFentress (Facebook), @AaronFentress (Instagram), and @AaronJFentress (Twitter)
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