The Portland Trail Blazers (19-19) went cold down the stretch once more Friday, Jan. 6, scoring only two points in the final 6:40 of their 108-99 loss at Indiana.
Rookie Jabari Walker inserted some much-needed energy off the bench to kick things off, coming in and grabbing five rebounds in less than two minutes of action.
Walker and Jusuf Nurkic helped the Blazers stem the tide of a slow start from their guards in Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons. Walker went out with seven points and five rebounds in his first run of the night, while Nurkic had eight points and four rebounds in the first quarter.
The second frame looked like Portland was on its way to another meltdown, falling behind by as much as 11 at 49-38.
Lillard and Simons found their stroke toward the end to propel the Blazers on a 17-5 run to close the first half and go into the break up 55-54. Simons had 15 points at the half while Lillard had eight.
Keeping the Pacers in the game were the Blazers’ 11 turnovers, leading to 12 fast break points by the young Indiana squad, the same amount Portland posted.
It looked to be the same story in the third quarter, but once again the Blazers stormed back, this time with Josh Hart leading the way.
He helped orchestrate the offense with five assists alone in the frame while also pulling down six rebounds. On top of that, he added seven points, including the final bucket of the frame on an explosive, one-handed dunk to put Portland up 82-81 going to the fourth.
PUT 'EM ON A POSTER #RipCity pic.twitter.com/XGljkAbmBC
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) January 7, 2023
That was false hope, however, as the Blazers went about as cold as a team can get in the final frame, scoring only 17 points.
Portland led 97-93 with 6:40 to go in the game, and only scored two more points on a couple made free throws by Lillard at the 3:05 mark.
The Blazers missed their last 11 shots from the 6:40 mark, while Indiana got buckets from Aaron Nesmith and Buddy Hield, followed by a dagger 3-pointer from Tyrese Haliburton.
Haliburton finished the night with 15 points and 12 assists, while Bennedict Mathurin had 19 points to lead the Pacers' scoring.
Nurkic went to work on the glass, finishing with 14 points and 19 rebounds, but Simons led the way scoring with 20 points. Hart finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Down the stretch, Lillard took four shots and missed them all, a time that he’s normally the most clutch. With his shots not falling, he turned elsewhere and the Blazers simply couldn’t get it done, a frustrating sign as Portland falls to .500 for the second time this season.
The Blazers were 11-11 on Nov. 30 and won five of their next six. They’ll hope to repeat that and avoid falling below .500 for the first time this season when they tip off at 12:30 p.m. Sunday in Toronto.
Standout stats
Can’t keep up: Portland held Indiana, the best fastbreak team in the league, to only 12 quick points in the first half while the Blazers also had 12. That flipped on its head in the second half when the Pacers scored 14 more fastbreak points while the Blazers had none, ending with a 26-12 disadvantage in the speed game.
Gotta have Hart: Josh Hart certainly gave it his all, nearly finishing with a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. On top of that, he didn’t miss a shot, going 4 for 4 from the field and making both of his free throws. There will be plenty of speculation about him staying in Portland over the next month, and it’s performances like this that make it hard to judge.
Going cold: This isn’t the first time Portland has seemed allergic to points in the final minutes of a game. The recent loss at Golden State comes to mind, and it’s a troubling sign when a team can only score two points in 6+ minutes.
Game grade: D
Portland found a way to close out every quarter except the last one, a dangerous trend that doesn’t seem to have an answer. Can Lillard take over more in the final minutes going forward? Or is that too similar to years past, with this team having to rely on one man to win a game? He’s Dame Time for a reason, but wasn’t on it on Friday. Portland has to find ways to win games when Lillard isn’t hitting his shots. And that’s the same tune Blazers fans have probably heard for a while. Someone’s got to step up in the closing moments, and until then, it might be a bumpy ride.