When asked about playing a same team on back-to-back nights, Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts noted that, while the first game was really no different than any other game, it was the second game which presents the most issues.
"I think the challenge is in the second game," said Stotts. "The first game, it's the first game for both teams, the fact that you're able to analyze the game film, make any changes or find something that you want to do going into Game Two, I think that's where the challenge is."
The Trail Blazers did not meet that challenge Sunday night in Minneapolis.
After besting the Timberwolves Saturday night thanks to big fourth-quarter performances by Carmelo Anthony and Damian Lillard, the Trail Blazers found themselves on the other end Sunday night, falling 114-112 in the second game of a back-to-back series played entirely at the Target Center.
“It’s hard to beat a team two times in a row,” said Damian Lillard. “We played them back-to-back nights, the first one was a dog fight. In that first game they built confidence and they felt good about what they did, they just weren’t able to win the game, we was able to pull it out with our experience in those moments. And then tonight, I thought we gave a good effort defensively but offensively it just wasn’t a great night.”
The Trail Blazers are now 22-16 overall and 11-9 on the road this season. Portland has now lost six of their last 10 games, a stretch that was preceded by six-straight wins.
That Portland needed a fourth-quarter comeback to win Saturday’s game versus the team with the worst record in the NBA didn’t portend good things about their chances in Sunday’s affair. It was clear in the early going that the Trail Blazers would have a rough night on their hands -- they scored a season-low 20 points in the first quarter -- even though they did manage to take a two-point lead into the intermission.
Though Sunday’s game had an “if, not when” feel with regard to the Timberwolves eventually overtaking the Trail Blazers. And like the night before, Minnesota made their move in the third quarter, though this time they only outscored Portland by six. However, their lead of four going into the fourth was larger than their advantage at the same point in the game the night before.
But while Lillard came through with one of his now-typical fourth-quarter performances, scoring 14 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 shooting from three in eight and a half minutes, he’d be matched by Timberwolves rookie Anthony Edwards, who put up 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting from three and 3-of-6 shooting from three.
Behind Edwards, and a significant advantage in free throws that persisted throughout the entire game, the Timberwolves opened up their largest lead of the game at 98-84 with 5:48 to play.
Portland would get the deficit down to single digits with a little over two minutes to play, but between a lack of stops and two calls favoring the Blazers being overturned, there would be no exciting, last-minute comeback to save the road team from their worst loss of the season.
“From an offensive standpoint it was a struggle for a lot of the night, particularly the first quarter,” said Stotts. “I thought we gave a good effort in the fourth quarter to try and get back into it but the whole was too deep.”
Lillard led the Trail Blazers with 38 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 shooting from three to go with seven rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes. He also made six three-pointers, which moved him past both JR Smith and JJ Redick for 14th all-time in made three-pointers.
Gary Trent Jr. finished with 21 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals in 33 minutes. Robert Covington had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists versus his old squad and Carmelo Anthony added 16 points off the bench.
Edwards led the Timberwolves with 34 points and four rebounds in 36 minutes. Ricky Rubio finished with 15 points, Jaylen Nowell contributed 14 off the bench and Josh Okogie scored 10 points, all on free throws.
The Blazers now return to Portland for their next five games starting with a Tuesday night affair versus the Pelicans, the first of two games in a row versus the New Orleans outfit. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
"back" - Google News
March 15, 2021 at 11:52AM
https://ift.tt/3rRATBd
Weekend In Minneapolis Ends With Loss In Second Game Of Back-To-Back - Trailblazers.com
"back" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2QNOfxc
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Weekend In Minneapolis Ends With Loss In Second Game Of Back-To-Back - Trailblazers.com"
Post a Comment