tlongII
11-26-2012, 10:00 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2012/11/blazers_fall_98-85_to_brooklyn_nets_playing_withou.html
NEW YORK — It would be easy to look at the Trail Blazers’ 98-85 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, peek ahead at a long and daunting trip and press the panic button.
But as they filed out of the visitor’s locker room at Barclays Center on Sunday with a closer-than-it-sounds loss to the Nets in the rearview mirror, the Blazers weren’t dwelling on another late-game meltdown, their poor rebounding or the ominous road ahead. Instead, surprisingly, they headed toward a Monday showdown with the Detroit Pistons upbeat.
“I don’t think this is a bad loss,” the Blazers’ resident sage, Jared Jeffries, said. “There are some losses that you look at, like the Phoenix loss, and say, ‘That was a bad loss.’ No loss is good, but we can take so many positives from this and the way we played. We can turn this into something good.”
Rose-colored glasses? Blind optimism? Postgame spin?
Perhaps. But under the circumstances, it could have been a lot worse for the Blazers on Sunday. Things first went south in the hours after their Friday night win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, when All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge’s back tightened up as feasted on a postgame meal. By Saturday, Aldridge said, he could not walk upright as spasms and alignment issues wreaked havoc on his back as the Blazers traveled to the East Coast.
Just before tipoff Sunday night, despite hours of massage and stem treatment, coach Terry Stotts scratched Aldridge from the starting lineup. That produced a starting lineup with the following reality: the Nets had four All-Stars, the Blazers had zero.
A game-starting 14-5 burst by the red-hot Nets (8-4), who have won five games in a row, seemed to foreshadow a blowout. But the Blazers (6-7) wouldn’t go quietly as Wesley Matthews started swishing shots all over the arena, Damian Lillard flirted with a triple-double and Meyers Leonard — filling in for Aldridge in the starting lineup — looked as poised and confident offensively as he has all season. Surprisingly, the Blazers led 50-46 at halftime and by as many as six points in the third quarter.
It didn’t hurt that Deron Williams was cover-your-eyes bad in the first half and former Blazers forward Gerald Wallace’s aging body looked creaky. Or that at least three times, Matthews and Nicolas Batum made desperation threes just before the shot clock expired. But even so, the young and spunky Blazers were going toe-to-toe against the glitzy new Nets as a different Jay-Z song played every ten minutes at Barclays Center.
“I thought we were going to win,” Aldridge said.
But just as they did in earlier road losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks, the Blazers were manhandled in the fourth quarter. The Nets used an early 13-4 run to blow open a 72-72 tie and the Blazers wilted in the deciding quarter as the more experienced and battle-tested Nets outscored them 28-15.
Matthews finished with 20 points, J.J. Hickson had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Lillard added 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists while playing through foul trouble. In the end, the Nets were too brawny in the post, outrebounding the Blazers 48-34 — including 17-9 on the offensive glass — and outscoring them 52-34 in the paint.
The Nets’ rugged frontline pushed and punished the Blazers’ undermanned and undersized bigs all night, as Reggie Evans (14 rebounds), Kris Humphries (14 points, 10 rebounds), Brook Lopez (15 points, eight rebounds) and Andray Blatche (13 points, eight rebounds) collectively were too much.
“The extra possessions, even though they didn’t convert a lot of the extra possessions, wore us down mentally,” Stotts said. “And they’re a big, physical team. That may have had an effect on us on the offensive end late.”
Deron Williams was cold all game, making just 4 of 13 shots, but his bulky, physical style presented a new test for Lillard. The All-Star finished with 15 points, 12 assists, a career-high four blocks and delivered a hard-luck lesson to the rookie: The league isn’t just filled with jitterbug point guards like Chris Paul and Steve Nash.
“It was a challenge just like every other game,” Lillard said of facing Williams. “He’s a bigger guard, handles the ball really well, uses his body really well and he’s the reason I got into foul trouble. He is a different style. He tried to throw his weight around a lot and he’s bigger and stronger than most of the point guards I’ve played against.”
It would be easy, perhaps even justified, to hammer the Blazers for squandering an opportunity to steal a road win against a playoff-caliber team. But as they left for Detroit, the Blazers were more apt to focus on the positives. They played without their All-Star against one of the NBA’s best and they held their own.
“It’s positives we can take from every game,” Lillard said. “I think this game, without our best player, to be able to come to Brooklyn and have a chance down the stretch ... to be in that position without LA, that says a lot about our team.”
Notes: Leonard finished with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting as he flashed some development around the rim by mixing some jump hooks and midrange jumpers with layups and dunks. ... Aldridge said he “most likely” will play Monday against the Pistons, but will know more after undergoing more treatment and rest. ... Joel Freeland went 0 for 2 from the field and is 1 for 18 on the season. ... The Nets improved to 6-1 in their new arena, which is the franchise’s best home start since 2002-03. ... Wallace made just 1 of 8 shots and finished with two points and one rebound.
NEW YORK — It would be easy to look at the Trail Blazers’ 98-85 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, peek ahead at a long and daunting trip and press the panic button.
But as they filed out of the visitor’s locker room at Barclays Center on Sunday with a closer-than-it-sounds loss to the Nets in the rearview mirror, the Blazers weren’t dwelling on another late-game meltdown, their poor rebounding or the ominous road ahead. Instead, surprisingly, they headed toward a Monday showdown with the Detroit Pistons upbeat.
“I don’t think this is a bad loss,” the Blazers’ resident sage, Jared Jeffries, said. “There are some losses that you look at, like the Phoenix loss, and say, ‘That was a bad loss.’ No loss is good, but we can take so many positives from this and the way we played. We can turn this into something good.”
Rose-colored glasses? Blind optimism? Postgame spin?
Perhaps. But under the circumstances, it could have been a lot worse for the Blazers on Sunday. Things first went south in the hours after their Friday night win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, when All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge’s back tightened up as feasted on a postgame meal. By Saturday, Aldridge said, he could not walk upright as spasms and alignment issues wreaked havoc on his back as the Blazers traveled to the East Coast.
Just before tipoff Sunday night, despite hours of massage and stem treatment, coach Terry Stotts scratched Aldridge from the starting lineup. That produced a starting lineup with the following reality: the Nets had four All-Stars, the Blazers had zero.
A game-starting 14-5 burst by the red-hot Nets (8-4), who have won five games in a row, seemed to foreshadow a blowout. But the Blazers (6-7) wouldn’t go quietly as Wesley Matthews started swishing shots all over the arena, Damian Lillard flirted with a triple-double and Meyers Leonard — filling in for Aldridge in the starting lineup — looked as poised and confident offensively as he has all season. Surprisingly, the Blazers led 50-46 at halftime and by as many as six points in the third quarter.
It didn’t hurt that Deron Williams was cover-your-eyes bad in the first half and former Blazers forward Gerald Wallace’s aging body looked creaky. Or that at least three times, Matthews and Nicolas Batum made desperation threes just before the shot clock expired. But even so, the young and spunky Blazers were going toe-to-toe against the glitzy new Nets as a different Jay-Z song played every ten minutes at Barclays Center.
“I thought we were going to win,” Aldridge said.
But just as they did in earlier road losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks, the Blazers were manhandled in the fourth quarter. The Nets used an early 13-4 run to blow open a 72-72 tie and the Blazers wilted in the deciding quarter as the more experienced and battle-tested Nets outscored them 28-15.
Matthews finished with 20 points, J.J. Hickson had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Lillard added 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists while playing through foul trouble. In the end, the Nets were too brawny in the post, outrebounding the Blazers 48-34 — including 17-9 on the offensive glass — and outscoring them 52-34 in the paint.
The Nets’ rugged frontline pushed and punished the Blazers’ undermanned and undersized bigs all night, as Reggie Evans (14 rebounds), Kris Humphries (14 points, 10 rebounds), Brook Lopez (15 points, eight rebounds) and Andray Blatche (13 points, eight rebounds) collectively were too much.
“The extra possessions, even though they didn’t convert a lot of the extra possessions, wore us down mentally,” Stotts said. “And they’re a big, physical team. That may have had an effect on us on the offensive end late.”
Deron Williams was cold all game, making just 4 of 13 shots, but his bulky, physical style presented a new test for Lillard. The All-Star finished with 15 points, 12 assists, a career-high four blocks and delivered a hard-luck lesson to the rookie: The league isn’t just filled with jitterbug point guards like Chris Paul and Steve Nash.
“It was a challenge just like every other game,” Lillard said of facing Williams. “He’s a bigger guard, handles the ball really well, uses his body really well and he’s the reason I got into foul trouble. He is a different style. He tried to throw his weight around a lot and he’s bigger and stronger than most of the point guards I’ve played against.”
It would be easy, perhaps even justified, to hammer the Blazers for squandering an opportunity to steal a road win against a playoff-caliber team. But as they left for Detroit, the Blazers were more apt to focus on the positives. They played without their All-Star against one of the NBA’s best and they held their own.
“It’s positives we can take from every game,” Lillard said. “I think this game, without our best player, to be able to come to Brooklyn and have a chance down the stretch ... to be in that position without LA, that says a lot about our team.”
Notes: Leonard finished with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting as he flashed some development around the rim by mixing some jump hooks and midrange jumpers with layups and dunks. ... Aldridge said he “most likely” will play Monday against the Pistons, but will know more after undergoing more treatment and rest. ... Joel Freeland went 0 for 2 from the field and is 1 for 18 on the season. ... The Nets improved to 6-1 in their new arena, which is the franchise’s best home start since 2002-03. ... Wallace made just 1 of 8 shots and finished with two points and one rebound.