Blazers wobble, fall to Nets 101-97

Hosting the short-staffed Brooklyn Nets, the Portland Trail Blazers knew they had to take this game to keep their season on-track.

Both teams had a bit of nervous energy to open the game. Maybe it was Allen Crabbe returning to Portland, or maybe it was something else, but both the Blazers and the Nets were amped.

Back and forth they went. Three Brooklyn triples (with a Jusuf Nurkic spin layup in between) forced a Blazers timeout trailing 16-14 halfway through the quarter.

Damian Lillard’s streal of 47 free throws made in a row was broken when he missed after Brooklyn received a technical foul. The Blazers couldn’t put any daylight between them and the Nets, and the nervous energy melted to just plain-old “energy” and a quick pace.

Nurkic went to the bench late in the quarter with 11 points and 4 boards, eager to make up for his 6-point performance the game before.

As the quarter ended, CJ McCollum dribbled in circles (and other shapes), pitching it to Pat Connaughton with moments to spare. Pat nailed the three and gave Portland a surprising 28-21 lead after one.

Star after Q1 – Jusuf Nurkic – 11 points, four rebounds, one assist

Portland quickly pulled their lead to double-digits, and nearly as quickly the Nets reeled them back in. The Blazers’ ultra-small lineup with Ed Davis play center and Connaughton at the 4 had a tough time stopping anything inside the paint, to the surprise of no-one.

One consequence of those lineups may have been that their offense never looked particularly crisp. Portland seemed willing to take advantage of individual matchups rather than poke and prod the defense for better looks. With the Nets refusing to roll over, the Blazers led 42-39 with 5 minutes left in the half.

Shabazz Napier saw some non-garbage time minutes, and the Blazers had enough speed to stay pesky on defense and bring some movement back on offense. A ball-stopper Napier is not. And with plays like THIS, maybe he should be on the court more often.

As the clock wound down, the Nets fouled Lillard, and he canned a pair of free throws to give Portland a modest 52-46 halftime lead.

Star after Q2 – Jusuf Nurkic – 15 points (7-13 FG), four rebounds, one assist

The Blazers opened the third looking for Nurk again, and he delivered on the roll, in the post, off rebounds, and by setting monster screens.

The Blazers once again built a double-digit lead, only to see it once again whittled away. A 12-0 Nets run put them up two late in the third, with the Blazers were forced into fading, contested midrange jumpers.

In what may not have been a coincidence, the Blazers were up 8 points when Nurkic went to the bench, and proceeded to bleed points thereafter.

As the threes rained upon them, the Blazers found themselves staring down the wrong end of a 17-0 run.

When the dust settled, the Nets had taken a 77-70 lead into the fourth.

Star after Q3 – Jusuf Nurkic – 21 points, five rebounds, one assist

Consecutive Evan Turner shots (one from deep!) pulled the Blazers within three early in the quarter. A McCollum jumper then cut the lead to one, forcing a Brooklyn timeout and giving the Moda Center crowd a much-needed shot in the arm.

A Napier stepback three tied the game, and it’s worth noting his impact tonight, as he finished with 11-3-2 and a steal on 5-7 shooting.

By the time Damian Lillard decided to heave one in from a standstill two steps from the line, the Blazers were on a 17-4 run of their own, leading 89-84 with 5:30 left in the game.

The Nets punched back, tying it at 89.

With Portland down 92-91, they called a timeout, ready to strategize for the final 3:15.

With less than a minute left, after a critical stop, Evan Turner got the ball and dribbled. Then he did some more dribbling. And then he lost control of the ball. For as much as Stotts trusts Turner, the last few games have been filled with far too many similar plays.

As the Blazers failed to covert, the Nets took advantage. Even though a McCollum drive cut the lead to one, the Blazers allowed D’Angelo Russell to draw an and-one. They also allowed the Nets to nab the offensive board off the miss.

One player missing from the late-game action: Jusuf Nurkic.

Make of that what you will.

Disappointment washed over Portland as the loss became inevitable. The Nets walked away winners, besting the Blazers101-97.

Star of the Game – Damian Lillard – 19 points, nine rebounds, six assists

EDIT: Jason Quick followed up his earlier Nurkic tweet with the following:

Three Takeaways

1) The Blazers don’t miss Allen Crabbe. OK, OK… Allen Crabbe the PERSON? They probably miss him. But not Allen Crabbe the player. Pat Connaughton is giving the Blazers just as much production as Crabbe did, at a fraction of the price, and (if the eye test serves) with more consistency from game to game, even if tonight wasn’t Pat’s night.

2) Feed the Bosnian Beast. It’s pretty simple: get Nurkic involved early, and he’ll probably play well the rest of the game. To be fair, foul trouble disrupted his rhythm in his 6-point performance against the Grizzlies. And yes, Nurk has to work through that. But while this Blazers team doesn’t have to run EVERYTHING through Nurkic to be successful, finding him early is something they should circle, highlight, star, underline, or otherwise put their emphasis on.

Next: 3 weeks in: how the Blazers stack up statistically so far in 2017

3) The Blazers need to stop blowing leads to lesser teams. This is even simpler. Portland isn’t going to be a playoff team, let alone a team with home court advantage, if they’re not able to close out bottom-dwellers. The number of mistakes the team made late was particularly disappointing. Also, Earth to Stotts: When you need ball movement, you don’t want to play Evan Turner.

Next Game

The Blazers face the Denver Nuggets in Portland at 7pm Pacific on Monday, Nov. 13.