As Phoenix Suns assistant coach DeMarre Carroll strutted off the Moda Center court and made his way into the bowels of the arena toward the visiting locker room, he couldn’t help but bask in the moment.
“Nice road win, boys,” he shouted out loud. “ Nice road win.”
It was also another rough loss for the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Suns defeated the Blazers 130-125 Tuesday night before 16,092, overcoming a 19-point first-half deficit to deliver Portland its season-worst sixth-consecutive loss.
Cole Gillespie and Grayson Allen took turns punishing the Blazers from the outside and Mark Williams sprinkled in a little damage in the paint as the Suns spoiled the Blazers debut of newly-acquired Vít Krejčí.
The loss wasn’t as ugly as last week’s at the Washington Wizards or as lopsided as recent setbacks against the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers. But it was just as hard to stomach because the Blazers opened with dominance and flare, playing fast, playing hard and playing as free as they have in weeks.
With Donovan Clingan and Toumani Camara splashing three-pointers, the defense applying pressure all over the court, and the blazing speed and depth of a nearly-healthy roster providing balance, the Blazers built an early 19-point lead and had that old killer look in their eyes.
“I think we’re definitely going through a rough patch right now,” said Camara, who finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. “But I think today our energy was picking back up. I think we showed a lot of great things, a lot of good effort. Our heart was there.”
But heart was not enough Tuesday. Not against a red-hot Suns (31-20) team that shot 51% from the field, including 49% from three-point range, and won for the seventh time in the last 10 games.
Gillespie and Allen might as well have been playing a game of tag against the Blazers, alternating who was “it” to deliver the next haymaker. They combined to score 54 points and make 14 threes, exploiting the Blazers’ “drop” defensive scheme with precision and poise. The Suns started to seize control in the third quarter, when they outscored the Blazers 34-22, and Phoenix’s backcourt did most of the damage, combining to make 7 of 9 threes and score 24 points.
By the end of the night, Gillespie had recorded 30 points and 10 assists, while making a career-high eight three-pointers, and Allen had produced 24 points thanks to six threes.
Once they opened up the exterior, Williams took over inside, finishing with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while making 11 of 14 shots.
“They made a lot of tough shots, they made a lot of threes,” Camara said. “It’s hard to beat teams when almost everybody’s hot and everybody’s making good shots. So props to them.”
The Blazers’ newest player, Krejčí, was not as hot in his Blazers debut. He entered the game with 5:06 left in the first quarter and didn’t waste much time testing his touted shooting ability, firing a step-back three less than two minutes into his first shift. It bounced off the front iron.
And that was a recurring sight Tuesday. Krejčí didn’t arrive in Portland until Monday after enduring two canceled flights, an unexpected overnight stay in Miami and a restless night that included just two hours of sleep. Then, after passing his physical, he went through a Tuesday morning shootaround with coaches and teammates that featured a crash course on the Blazers’ offensive and defensive principles.
It was, as Krejčí said, a “long 48 hours” and it showed. He scored just five points in 14 minutes and made 2 of 7 shots, including 1 of 6 threes, with most of them falling short off the front iron.
But he brought plenty of energy and hustle, recording back-to-back blocks during one defensive possession and diving for a loose ball along the sideline during another. When he hit his first shot — a three from the top of the key off a pass from Robert Williams III — Krejčí pumped his fist and smiled in his new No. 27 uniform.
“It was just awesome to hit that shot,” he said. “Obviously, not the best shooting night. But it’s been a crazy couple days and once I get my legs under me and get adjusted to that time zone — it’s, what, 2:00 a.m. right now? — I’ll be fine. All of those shots felt good. I think three or four of them were short. So we’ve got two days now in between, so just get in the gym, get in the weight room, just get my legs underneath me.”
Perhaps the biggest question hanging over the struggling Blazers (23-28) Tuesday was whether Krejčí will be the only new addition to the roster.
The NBA trade deadline is Thursday at noon and the league-wide rumor mill is churning with innuendo surrounding everyone from Giannis Antetokounmpo to Anthony Davis to Ja Morant. There were multiple headline-grabbing deals on Tuesday and acting coach Tiago Splitter has acknowledged that the week is “kind of tough for everyone” and impossible for players to completely tune out the noise.
“It’s not a great timing for sure,” Splitter said, when asked if his players seemed affected by the deadline. “There’s always something about that. But hopefully we can get past the deadline … and move forward.”
Splitter and general manager Joe Cronin have not discussed “concrete” details about what players the Blazers could use, Splitter said, but have toyed with “ideas on the wall.”
But this much is certain: A team that is limping through its longest losing streak of the season will be happy when the deadline passes.
“It’s definitely an awkward situation,” Camara said. “Everybody’s trying to figure it out. Everybody is kind of nervous about getting a random a phone call. But it’s just a part of the business we are in. I don’t think it’s something that’s at the top of our minds … but it’s possible it has an effect, maybe just subconsciously.”