At the Moda Center on Saturday night, the Portland Trail Blazers put up the defensive effort required through three quarters in order to possibly escape being blown out by the Houston Rockets, who were the favorites.
However, the Blazers, who have had difficulty scoring during their five-game home stretch, once again lacked offensive depth.
The Blazers exited still looking for offensive answers, as the Rockets easily won 125-103.
Blazers coach Chauncey Billups stated, “I really felt we played well today.” We play hard. I believed that we played together and shared the ball. Generally speaking, we didn’t make any shots.
All things considered, though, Billups was impressed with the Blazers’ final 28 assists. The Blazers shot only 33.3% from three-point range and missed multiple layups in traffic.
According to Billups, “I thought our intentions were really good tonight, sharing the ball, moving ball.”
The Blazers struggled inside against Houston center Alperen Sengun, who scored 23 points and pulled down 15 rebounds, without starting center Deandre Ayton and backup center Donovan Clingan. He was a major factor in the Rockets’ 61-40 outrebound victory over Portland. An Achilles heel for the Blazers throughout the season, the Rockets scored 24 second-chance points on 23 offensive rebounds.
According to Billups, we anticipated a difficult night on the glass. However, we made an effort. It was simply too much to handle. To have stayed in the fight, we would have needed to shoot it pretty well.
The Blazers came into the game having averaged just 100.3 points per night and had a 102.4 offensive rating throughout the first three games of their home stand, which put them lowest in the NBA during that time.
The Blazers lost those three games by a total of 68 points as a result of that.
The Blazers started the game behind 10–2, but they rallied, increased their defensive effort, and concluded the first quarter with a 25–23 deficit.
However, Anfernee Simons did not score in the first quarter against the Rockets, and he did not score in Thursday night’s loss to the LA Clippers.
During the first half of an NBA basketball game on Saturday, January 18, 2025, in Portland, Oregon, Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons (1) tries to pass the ball away from Houston Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate (8). (Photo by Amanda Loman/AP) APAP
It wasn’t until he made consecutive three-pointers in the second quarter that he scored his first points. The clock read eight minutes and thirty seconds for the first one. The Blazers led 31-29 after the second, which was seconds later.
With a surge to start the third quarter, the Rockets led 70-58. Houston was ahead 87-74 going into the last quarter, but the Rockets rallied to take a 103-80 lead with 7:12 left.
Simons scored 13 points in the end.Scoot Henderson led the Blazers with 21 points and 11 assists after coming off the bench. Toumani Camara scored 17 points on 7 of 12 shots while being scoreless against the Clippers.
With 26 points, Jalen Green led the Rockets. The Blazers’ three-point shooting percentage was 33.3, while Houston’s was 45.2%.
IMPORTANCE OF IT
The Blazers (13-28) dropped to 0-4 on their five-game home stand and lost their fifth straight game. In the Western Conference, the Rockets (28-13) are still in second place.
The season series was won 2-1 by the Rockets. The Blazers defeated the Rockets 116-88 in late November, but they won 104-98 the next night.
RETURNS OF JERAMI GRANT
After missing nine games due to a facial contusion, Grant made a comeback. Despite starting, he only managed to score seven points in twenty-five minutes on two of six shots.
INJURIES
Clingan (right ankle sprain) and Matisse Thybulle (right ankle sprain) were joined on the bench in street clothes by Ayton (lower back pain) and Deni Avdija (right ankle sprain).
UPCOMING
The Blazers play the Chicago Bulls (18–24) at 6 p.m. on Sunday to wrap up their five-game home run.
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Aaron J. Fentress | [email protected]|@AaronJFentress (Facebook), @AaronFentress (Instagram), and @AaronJFentress (Twitter)
