The Portland Trail Blazers lost to the Charlotte Hornets at the Moda Center, 103-101. The Trail Blazers had a lead as large as 19 in the second quarter. The game came down to missed layups and late-game execution.
Blazers Fall Short in Crunch Time
Portland had chances to create a 3-point cushion, but missed three layups. Two of the missed layups came in the final two minutes. Three consecutive turnovers with less than a minute and a half remaining also hurt the Blazers.
Blazers forward Jerami Grant barreled into Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel for a charge with 12.8 seconds left. The score was 99-98 in favour of the Hornets at the time. Grant said he probably rushed the play and should have taken a midrange jumper.
Following two Charlotte free throws, the Blazers called a timeout with nine seconds left. The score was 101-98 to the Hornets. Toumani Camara’s inbound pass to Deni Avdija went out of bounds as Avdija fell to the ground.
Avdija said he had to take responsibility and do a better job of getting open. He also said he wasn’t going to cry about the contact on the play. Two Charlotte free throws on the next possession sealed the victory.
Coaches and Players React to Loss
Toumani Camara said the Blazers had some stupid turnovers and couldn’t make shots. He felt the team let the Hornets creep up on them too easily. He added that the Blazers didn’t really put up a fight like they should’ve.
“Everything was under our control,” Camara said.
Grant and Avdija’s Performances
Grant scored a game-high 24 points, including three 3s on 7-10 shooting. Avdija produced 18 points and seven assists. He looked like his All-Star self for the second straight game after returning from injury.
- Jerami Grant: 24 points
- Deni Avdija: 18 points, 7 assists
The Portland Trail Blazers are 4-6 since the All-Star break.