The Portland Trail Blazers had a golden opportunity on Friday to improve their standing in the Western Conference playoff chase. They were taking on an undermanned Oklahoma City Thunder team, who were missing MVP-favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
However, the Trail Blazers couldn't muster up much of anything and ended up getting blown off the court. If Portland had won this game, they would have gained a game in the standings as both the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns lost.
Portland still sits four games back of the final spot in the West Play-In. But this game was a reminder that making the postseason isn't easy and if the Trail Blazers want to reach the postseason, they will have to bring the effort each game.
The team struggled mightily on the offensive side of the ball, leading to the loss. Portland shot just 34.7 percent from the field and 18.6 percent from 3-point range.
Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups weighed in on the performance from his time, specifically speaking about the poor second quarter. Portland allowed the Thunder to go on a 19-2 run to end the quarter, sending themselves to a large halftime deficit.
“We didn’t give ourselves a chance in that first half,” Billups said. “I didn’t think we pressured. We got away from who we are, in terms of defensively. We just let them drive around us. No help there. Let them get confidence, and it really, really just backfired on us. Got ourselves into too big of a hole.”
The Trail Blazers didn't quit however and pulled within two points. But in the end, the Thunder blew the game back open and Portland couldn't finish the job.
“We fought like crazy, got it to two,” Billups said. “But you almost got to play perfect in those situations. Fighting so hard, I thought we ran out of gas a little bit. Couldn’t score the last six minutes of the game.”
All the team can do now is regroup and get ready for the Detroit Pistons coming up on Sunday. Portland will need to grab this game if they want to keep things on pace within the standings.
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