Blazing Babbles: Urgh, Canada
Trip City.
In a difficult four-game in five-night stretch, the Trail Blazers were bound to trip up somewhere. And it didn’t take long. One night after beating the New York Knicks in the world’s most famous basketball arena, the Blazers go back-to-back in Toronto. They packed their passports but apparently, not their efforts in a listless 102-79 loss to the Raptors.
Blazers fall to 16-15 overall with a 5-11 road record. They’re back on the grind for a real challenge in Memphis on Friday, and close out the trip Saturday against Minnesota.
Round of applause for the rookie
During the game, a press release from the NBA announced Damian Lillard as the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for December; the second straight honor for the Blazer point guard. Lillard led all rookies with 18.2 points, 6.9 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game and hit those numbers on the mark in Toronto: 18 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds … but 7 turnovers, too.
Sluggish from the start
Sloppy play doomed the Blazers from the tip, a big reason why the Raptors screamed to a 10-0 start. The Blazers committed three turnovers in the opening 2 minutes, 30 seconds. Passes zipped the wrong way and slow feet didn’t not hustle back to stop transition points. When they weren’t throwing five possessions away, the Blazers were plain cold through the opening quarter and missed all four 3-point attempts. Portland finished 4 for 22 beyond the arc, which was four more than players hit the last time they played the Raptors. Blazers finish the two-game Toronto season set 4 for 42 from threes.
More “cover-your-eyes” stats
Not one Blazer who played on Wednesday finished with a positive +/- number for the night. Even Wesley Matthews, who didn’t take many shots but made the most of them on 4-for-7 shooting, was a -18, tied for worst with Lillard.
Conversely, the Toronto starting backcourt produced 24 points and 13 assists. More specifically, shooting guard DeMar DeRozan scored the 24. Point guard Jose Calderon handed out 13 assists. Weird, huh? Both guys sticking to what they do best, putting up big fat zeroes in the other’s categories and still dominating the Blazers.
Just wasn’t their night…
Portland’s own Terrence Ross enjoyed playing against his hometown team, coming off the bench and leading all scorers with 26 points. When Ross drained a 26-footer at the halftime buzzer, that pretty much told you it was Toronto’s night. The Blazers never responded with one of those rallies that they’ve shown in the past. Although a Matthews’ 3-pointer cut the lead to 12 early in the third quarter, the Raptors just sent another helping of Ed Davis, DeRozan and Ross – a big three that the Blazers couldn’t stop.
Though LaMarcus Aldridge finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, Davis outplayed him in the power forward matchup for 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 7 rebounds.
PORTLAND (79)
Batum 4-12 2-2 10, Aldridge 7-12 0-0 14, Hickson 1-4 0-0 2, Lillard 6-13 5-6 18, Matthews 4-7 2-3 12, Freeland 4-6 3-3 11, Claver 1-2 0-1 2, Price 1-2 0-0 2, Babbitt 1-4 1-1 4, Barton 0-1 0-0 0, Pavlovic 1-3 0-0 2, Smith 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 31-70 13-16 79.
TORONTO (102)
Pietrus 0-4 0-0 0, Davis 9-12 1-4 19, Gray 0-0 0-0 0, Calderon 0-1 0-0 0, DeRozan 11-17 1-1 24, Johnson 7-12 3-3 17, Anderson 2-9 0-0 4, Lowry 0-2 0-0 0, Fields 3-4 1-1 7, Ross 8-14 4-6 26, Acy 0-0 2-2 2, Lucas 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 41-77 12-17 102.
Portland 17 22 22 18— 79
Toronto 24 31 23 24—102
3-Point Goals—Portland 4-22 (Matthews 2-4, Babbitt 1-4, Lillard 1-5, Claver 0-1, Pavlovic 0-2, Batum 0-6), Toronto 8-23 (Ross 6-9, Lucas 1-2, DeRozan 1-3, Calderon 0-1, Anderson 0-2, Lowry 0-2, Pietrus 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Portland 38 (Aldridge 10), Toronto 45 (Johnson, Davis, Fields 7). Assists—Portland 19 (Lillard 7), Toronto 34 (Calderon 13). Total Fouls—Portland 18, Toronto 20. Technicals—Acy. A—18,117 (19,800).
