The Portland Trail Blazers lost a heartbreaker to the Orlando Magic Monday night, as Desmond Bane’s tough buzzer-beating 3-pointer swished through as time expired to give the Magic a 115-112 victory.
Bane’s only 3-pointer of the night came at the worst possible time for the Blazers. It saved Orlando from a furious 11-0 Portland run in the final minutes that almost stole the Blazers the road win.
The loss dropped Portland to 5-5 after starting this current road trip 0-2.
Shaedon Sharpe had his best game of the season Monday night, scoring 31 points on 12-18 shooting, including 3-5 on 3-pointers and 4-7 from the free throw line. Whenever the Blazers appeared to be stalling out, Sharpe stepped up. He tallied nine points in the second quarter to keep the Blazers close, then came out aggressively in the second half, scoring 20 of his 31.
The Magic entered the game leading the league in free throw attempts per game. On Monday night, they bullied their way to 34 attempts. They outscored the Blazers at the line 29-19, which allowed them to control the pace for much of the game as Portland was limited to only 10 fast break points.
The Blazers have made life difficult for their opponents early in the season with relentless full-court defense. But on Monday night in Orlando, the full court press was nowhere to be found. With Blake Wesley and Matisse Thybulle sidelined, it looks like Portland opponents will get some relief from the constant pressure.
The defense still stood out, though. All-Star Paolo Banchero had very little left in the tank in crunch time for Orlando. The Blazers threw a lot of long-armed defenders at him all night long. Toumani Camara, Deni Avdija, Kris Murray, and Jerami Grant all took turns defending Banchero. He led the Magic with 28 points, but struggled in the fourth quarter, when he was just 1-5 from the field. He missed a pair of huge free throws with :13 seconds remaining, then badly missed a potential game-winning free throw with :05 seconds left.
In the end, though, Bane’s heroics and the Blazers’ lack of execution bailed him out, lifting Orlando to the dramatic win.
The Blazers continue their road trip in New Orleans at 5:00 PM Pacific on Wednesday.
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