The Portland Trail Blazers saw their NBA Cup chances take a serious hit Friday night in Houston, as they were blown out by the Rockets 140-116 to fall to 6-6 on the season and 1-1 in their NBA Cup group.
Playing in Space City, liftoff was successful for the Blazers. They jumped out to a quick 9-point lead in the opening minutes. But Portland came crashing down during a disastrous start to the second half. The Blazers committed six turnovers in the first four minutes of the third quarter, allowing the Rockets to build a 20-point lead that was never seriously threatened.
Player of Note
No Blazer will feel like they were at their best Friday night, but there were a few bright spots. Toumani Camara buried three first-half 3-pointers on his way to 16 points.
Shaedon Sharpe continued to be assertive on the offensive end. He finished with 19 points on 7-16 shooting to go along with 8 rebounds, 3 assists. Over the last six games, he is averaging 24.5 points. The three-point shot still isn’t falling, but he looks good driving to the basket.
Stat of the Night
The Blazers turned the ball over 19 times, while forcing only five. With the extra possessions, the Rockets attempted 20 more shots than the Blazers.
Houston Guard Fred VanVleet is expected to miss the entire season after tearing his ACL in September, so the Rockets play a lot of lineups without a traditional point guard. They should be vulnerable to defensive pressure, but the Blazers were never able to make them uncomfortable. The turnover disparity fueled Houston’s 23-9 advantage on fast break points.
What We Noticed
The Blazers have lost four of their past six games, and they really miss Matisse Thybulle and Blake Wesley. Without those menacing defenders in the lineup, the Blazers have started to slide down the league rankings in steals while providing much less full-court pressure.
But even with good defense, sometimes there’s nothing you can do to stop Kevin Durant.
Basketball fans everywhere should appreciate his greatness, which was on full display Friday night. Durant scored 30 points on 12-19 shooting from the field, including 3-6 from behind the 3-point arc. During his 36 minutes, the Rockets outscored the Blazers by 37 points.
Up Next
The Blazers close out their five-game road trip in Dallas at 4:30 PM Pacific on Sunday.
