The Portland Trail Blazers lost their third straight game tonight, falling 115-111 to the Washington Wizards. Alex Sarr wielded the magic wand for the Wizards with 29 points. Shaedon Sharpe led the visiting Blazers with 31. The win broke the home team’s nine-game losing streak.
Shaedon was a lightning rod in this game, coming up with clutch shot after clutch shot on his way to his 31 points. What he can do when he’s going well is tough to duplicate, but he came up short at the end, as did the Blazers as a whole. Meanwhile, Sarr was the Wizards’ player of the game, although he was only 11 of 29 from the field.
Free throws or turnovers, take your pick. The Blazers were 13 of 23 (57%) in a game they lost by 4. Or giving up 29 points on 20 turnovers, also a few too many in a very winnable game. On the other hand, the big number could have been 29 offensive rebounds, including 13 by Donovan Clingan. “Could have been” if the Blazers had won, that is.
The Blazers came up with a competitive first quarter against the Wizards, winning the frame 28-26. The second quarter? Please don’t ask. The Wizards were on top 60-53 at halftime, thanks to a flurry of missed free throws (4 of 12 for 33%) and turnovers (14). The Blazers shot better from the field ( 21 of 48 for 44%) and from the 3-point line (7 of 19 for 37%) than from the charity stripe, not usually a key to success in the NBA.
Wizards management is on the record recently maintaining that trading Deni to Portland was a good move for them. Maybe so, but it appears to have been even better than that for the Blazers. As usual, Deni filled up the stat sheet tonight, even though still hampered by his back issues: 17 points, 12 rebounds and 3 assists. Chances are pretty good that the Blazers will always be open to helping the Wizards out like this.
Evan Turner was behind the mike on the Blazers broadcast tonight, and he was classic! Such as this description of a successful post move by Donovan Clingan: “Basketball is a primal sport. You see food, you eat it.” Evan has a well-earned reputation as an interviewee from his time as a Blazer, and it looks like he hasn’t lost his touch.
Rayan Rupert appeared to be everywhere during his run in the first half: 7 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals in 7 minutes of relentless disruption. Don’t look now, but here’s another deep-bencher starting to make his presence known.
Also, a 20-year-old youngster from China made an appearance. Yang Hansen was plus 8 in the first half and finished the game with 6 points and 5 rebounds in 12 minutes of action. Not mind-blowing numbers, maybe, but important considering that backup center Robert Williams III was not available.
The Blazers are headed for their annual bite of the Big Apple next, with the New York Knicks setting the table on Friday at 4:30 p.m. PST.
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