When Sidy Cissoko was asked Friday night to describe the Portland Trail Blazers’ first quarter against the Toronto Raptors, he peered at a nearby member of the team’s communication staff in search of approval.
“Can I say it?” Cissoko asked.
“No,” the staffer said, shaking his head.
Some words, it turns out, are not meant for public consumption.
The Blazers blundered through their worst quarter of the season, then fumbled away a winnable game down the stretch, falling 110-98 to the Raptors before 17,438 at Moda Center.
The defeat ended the Blazers’ four-game winning streak and left a sour taste in their mouths as they prepared to leave for a weeklong East Coast trip.
“Not a great night,” Blazers acting coach Tiago Splitter said.
It didn’t help that the shorthanded Blazers were without eight injured players, including Deni Avdija, who reinjured his lower back Thursday night in a win over the Miami Heat. And it didn’t help that two of their healthy players, Jrue Holiday and Jerami Grant, continue to play through minute-restrictions as they return from extended injury absences.
But the biggest hindrance was the Blazers’ hideous performance in the opening quarter, when they fumbled and flubbed their way through 12 minutes that should have been accompanied by the Benny Hill theme song.
The Blazers’ first five possessions featured a missed step-back jumper, three missed three-pointers and a turnover. And it was merely a tease of what was to come.
Portland went on to make just two of its first 21 field goals, including zero of its first 10 three-pointers, in an opening period that dented shooting percentages and threatened to shatter franchise records of futility. The Blazers had just six points heading into the final three minutes of the quarter, prompting the curious to look up the worst quarters in franchise history.
The worst first quarter came in February 2012, when Portland mustered just five points at the Lakers. The worst quarter overall came in March 2006, when the Blazers scored just five points in the fourth at the New Jersey Nets.
Toumani Camara ensured Friday’s forgettable first period would not go in the record book when he swished a three with 2:19 left, trimming the Raptors’ lead to 19-6. Grant added a 19-foot pull-up jumper 40 seconds later, then made 1 of 2 free throws with 34.9 seconds left to give the Blazers 12 first-quarter points.
The final damage: Portland made just 4 of 26 shots (15.4%), including 1 of 11 threes (9.1%), scoring their fewest points in any quarter this season.
“Helpless,” Splitter said, when asked to describe the period, offering more than Cissoko was allowed to.
The saving grace for the Blazers was that the Raptors weren’t all that much better, shooting just 38% from the field while building a modest 19-12 edge. That left the door open for the Blazers and, eventually, they walked through it, making things interesting down the stretch. When Donovan Clingan completed a rebound layup with 11:08 left, the Blazers took their first lead of the game at 78-76.
But the rally was fleeting. The Raptors pushed their lead to double-digits midway through the fourth, then responded to a late Portland charge by outscoring the Blazers 12-4 over the final 4:07.
“We just didn’t have it at the end,” said Holiday, who finished with 21 points and seven assists. “Obviously, for most of the game, it kind of felt like we were climbing an uphill battle. But we got to within five (points) a couple times and even got up. I just think toward the end, usually when we’re better at making plays and getting the lead, we didn’t have it tonight.”
Toronto center Sandro Mamukelashvili was a beast most of the night, finishing with 22 points, six rebounds, three assists and a plus-minus of plus-25. Immanuel Quickley added 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Scottie Barnes recorded 15 points, nine rebounds, six blocks and four assists, which included 11 points in the fourth quarter.
“Toronto’s got a great team,” Cissoko said. “I give credit to Mamu, my old teammate, he played great tonight. We’ve got a lot of guys missing because of the back-to-back stretch and you can see that this affects us just a little bit. I wish everybody (could have) played healthy, but they did a great job … just playing well, sharing the ball and finding the open man.”
On the other side of the court, it didn’t matter how often the Blazers were open. The Raptors packed the paint with length and athleticism and dared Portland to beat them from long-range. The Blazers were unable to answer the challenge, shooting just 29% from three-point range (13 for 45).
The good news is that Holiday and Grant continue to take steps forward as they work back into midseason shape, and Splitter said the veterans will slowly have their minute-restrictions eased in different stages moving forward.
The bad news is that it’s unclear how much time Avdija will miss. He went through a light workout with assistant coaches before the game and Splitter said his point-forward would be traveling with the Blazers on their trip to the East Coast.
But whether he will be ready to play Monday, when the Blazers visit the Boston Celtics, is up in the air.
“Being a (former) player, I know how these guys want to fight through injuries,” Splitter said. “But I don’t think that he should be fighting with that pain right now. I think he should just be smart, rest, get 100% right and come back.”
Next up: The Blazers open a three-game East Coast trip Monday at 5 p.m. against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.