Portland Trail Blazers Looking to Snap Slide
Portland suffered a sixth straight loss as they were upended by Denver at home Saturday night in the second game of a back-to-back set. The Trail Blazers entered Thursday 19-52 and stood last in the Northwest Division, 31 games behind the Thunder and Nuggets for the top spot. They have been eliminated from playoff contention as they own the worst record in the Western Conference. Against Denver, Portland trailed by four after the opening quarter, by as many as 15 in the second quarter and by 10 at the half. The Trail Blazers cut the margin to two after three quarters and took a 91-89 lead with 9:01 remaining before giving up an 18-4 run to trail 107-95 with 2:59 to play. They made it close down the stretch but fell short. Portland shot 46.2% from the field, including 10 of 28 from three-point range, and turned the ball over 15 times in the game. Duop Reath led the Trail Blazers with 24 points and eight rebounds in the loss.

On the year, the Trail Blazers are 28th in the league in scoring offense with 107.8 points per game. Portland is 26th in the league in rebounding with 42 boards a contest and 30th in assists as they hand out 23 assists per game this season. The Trail Blazers are 17th in scoring defense by allowing 115.9 points per night. Anfernee Simons leads the team with 22.6 points plus 5.5 assists per game this season. Jerami Grant puts up 21 points a night while Shaedon Sharpe (15.9 points, five rebounds) and Malcolm Brogdon (15.7 points, 5.5 assists) are solid scoring options as well. Deandre Ayton (15.8 points, 11.1 rebounds), Scoot Henderson (13.1 points, 4.8 assists), Robert Williams III, Jabari Walker, Toumani Camara, Matisse Thybulle, Dalano Banton, Duop Reath, Moses Brown and Kris Murray have been a part of the Trail Blazers’ rotation this season. Portland is 29th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 44.3% from the field as a team this season. The Trail Blazers are 24th in the league in threes per game as they hit 11.7 triples per game and are 23rd in three-point percentage as they hit 35.4% from beyond the arc.

Williams III (knee) is done for the year after undergoing surgery in November. Sharpe (abdominal) last played on January 11 and is out until early April while Brogdon (elbow) last played February 25 and is out until early April while Grant (hamstring) last played on March 11 and is out indefinitely. Simons (knee) missed Saturday’s game while Ayton (elbow) and Thybulle (ankle) each missed the last two games. That trio are each questionable here so watch for updates on their status before tipoff.