The Portland Trail Blazers were outclassed by another Western Conference contender on Monday night, falling to the Utah Jazz 129-107 at Vivint Arena. An additional defeat on the road moved them to 1-10 outside Moda Center and 10-11 on the regular season overall, good for 10th-best in the Western Conference.
Utah was better than Portland from the jump, but what really doomed Chauncey Billups' team was the third quarter — just like in Friday's loss to the Golden State Warriors. The Blazers clawed back from a 10-point deficit to trail by four at intermission, buoyed by a relative scoring outburst from Jusuf Nurkic and some cold long-range shooting from the Jazz.
Neither trend continued after halftime.
The Jazz canned nine triples in the third quarter alone, thrashing Portland's half-court defense with quick-hitting ball movement. The Blazers' second unit fought back to prevent the score from getting out of hand before the last stanza, but the damage had already been done. It was clear they weren't going to come back from another double-digit hole in the game's final frame.
One of many reasons why? The faint possibility of Damian Lillard's singular late-game heroics.
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Lillard labored to 11 points, six rebounds and five assists against Utah, going 4-of-12 overall and 1-of-4 from beyond the arc. Him getting to the line just two times is indicative of not just Rudy Gobert's dominant defense at the rim, but Lillard's nagging core injury clearly affecting his burst and overall athleticism. The Blazers star came up limp after taking contact on the drive midway through the second quarter, then was forced to favor his right side again after halftime following a midair collision with Gobert.
He never left the game due to pain, but played just 31 minutes. Lillard's third-quarter stint was cut short in wake of his clash with Gobert, and he exited for good with a few minutes left and the score out of reach.
At one point, Billups felt the need to make sure his superstar was healthy enough to continue playing.
“I even went to him one time in the game and asked him was he alright, I could take him out,” he said of Lillard. “But he wanted to stay in there and kinda see if it wouldn't loosen up on him.
It didn't. And considering Lillard's recent admission about his longtime core injury being an inevitable factor all season long, it's fair to anticipate that tightness continuing — perhaps as soon as the second leg of Tuesday's back-to-back at Moda Center.
Good thing Billups has a plan for Portland to get a much-needed win while Lillard plays through pain.
“Him on the court, even if you use him as a decoy, he's still gonna get guarded with the same coverages that he would if he was hot,” Billups said. “He's that great of a player. I think I gotta do a better job of using him a little more wisely when he's hampered a little.”
Let's hope that approach pays off for the Blazers on Tuesday night against the lowly Detroit Pistons.
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