“Try Hard” Blazers Throw Scare into Timberwolves

有十名球员患有伤病，波特兰赛·布拉泽斯今晚与明尼苏达森林狼一起进入他们的比赛，其中一个拆除平板电脑的所有魅力和平原，让你在收到它作为圣诞礼物时强迫微笑。无论徽标说什么，这不做多少事情。

事实证明，这份礼物是一个令人惊讶的价值。Anfernee Simons得分38.在他周围的禁令所有游戏都很长，篮板篮球，放弃，在他们的头顶上放弃。说燃烧器很好会是一个伸展。他们的防守是easmal，他们没有回答卡尔 - 安东尼城镇，他们在13-17次拍摄中得分36次，射击15个篮板和5次助攻。但波特兰将游戏保持接近最后几分钟的比赛，对阵相当全动力的森林狼队。

可悲的是，“关闭”不是“未来”。当城镇在第四季度击败他们基本上不合时宜的小队时，开拓者落后并失去了第135-121赛。无论如何，这是一场努力，如果冒犯是你的果酱，这是一个愉快的事情。

First Quarter

Do not adjust your sets. The Blazers started CJ Elleby, Keljin Blevins, Keon Johnson. and Drew Eubanks tonight. Their fifth starter, Anfernee Simons, is a strong candidate for Most Improved Player. Keeping that company, he’d better be.

为了他们的信用，约翰逊，Elleby，Eubanks，Blevins，Simons阵容（以后称为Jeebs Squad）确实很好地在第一个时期犯罪。他们将球放在地板中间，从所有范围拍摄：轮辋到弧形。感谢约翰逊（3-3）和西蒙斯（2-3），波特兰从弧线开始5-7。他们也在连续8次沿着地板上得分。这非常令人难以置信。

Unfortunately, Portland’s defense was nonexistent. The Timberwolves shot 6-10 from the arc themselves in the first 9 minutes, plus they ran a layup line on the break...a big no-no in Head Coach Chauncey Billups’ defensive system. Every time the Blazers scored, the ‘Wolves scored easier.

The good news: Portland’s shooting kept up through the late-quarter bench shift. (The caveat was, suiting up 8 players effectively eliminated half of that bench shift.) The Blazers finished the period on an 8-0 run, even. But the defense didn’t get any better. Still, Portland led 34-32 after one. That was a major accomplishment, given the circumstances.

第二季度

Brandon Williams and Ben McLemore started off the second period stroking threes that the Timberwolves felt disinclined to guard, keeping the point pipeline going. Forcing turnovers, grabbing rebounds, and converting both into quick points allowed Portland to build a 7-point lead early in the period.

一个运行of turnovers foiled Portland’s designs on keeping their edge. You can’t make shots you never get up. The ‘Wolves had no such problem, running back miscues for even more layups. Add a couple threes in the mix, and Portland’s lead disappeared in (literally) seconds.

The Blazers didn’t give up, though. They continued to push the pace, attacking the rim whether or not they had an outright break. This is actually semi-impressive, as teams that expect to lose often devolve into jump-shooting when things start going south. Instead, Portland took a solid half of their attempts right at the cup. That allowed them enough points to overcome their still-spotty defense. Portland led 64-63 at the half.

Third Quarter

如果森林狼要调整，第三期的开始是时候证明它的时间。让西蒙斯在波特兰的初始占有中描绘了三角形并不是一个很棒的迹象。如果这是狼人，jeebs阵容中的“s”将是唯一的绿色字母。只有一份工作，'狼的防守已经吹了它。

But Portland’s success wasn’t limited to distance shooting. Minnesota’s defense continued to be ultra-permissive (read: absent) inside. Give the Blazers credit. They recognized, attacking the rim with abandon.

随着季度的进展，西蒙斯继续倒入它，击中多个三分之一。西装队在西蒙斯罢工之间交流过渡攻击。eubanks在里面击中，要么将镜头转换或敲打他的身体，反对更大（偶尔较小）的狼队的球员。他挫败了Malik Beasley，足以从守卫中绘制一个头部屁股，他们被剩下的7:21被排除在一起，在5-10次拍摄时获得了16分。

游戏通过第三个的平衡仍然是枪战。明尼苏达州迅速得分;波特兰与他们拍摄射击，当他们不能时，在射击时射击反弹。鉴于团队（和阵容）的相对位置，经常得分并保持甚至是燃烧者的胜利。

Unfortunately, the game got away from Portland in the final two minutes of the third. Minnesota went inside and, instead of staying solid and rebounding, the Blazers reached and fouled. That late run turned an even game into a 109-101 Minnesota lead heading into the fourth.

Fourth Quarter

如果燃烧者将滚过，在最后一段时间面临赤字，他们有一种炫耀的方式。他们响了9点开始第四个，西蒙斯和布兰登威廉姆斯在这个过程中击中了三分之一。在三分之后，明尼苏达的保证金已经缩小到一个。

At that point Karl-Anthony Towns came alive. All game long, he had been the only real center on the floor. The Blazers didn’t exactly handle him, but his contributions looked better on paper than on the court. He scored a lot, but his team got no real edge from it.

第四个不是那么。在波特兰的集体头上的城镇雨点不仅是城镇，他做了几次站立的防守剧。它看起来好像燃烧者终于遇到了他们无法播放的障碍。他们不仅缺乏中心，他们缺乏球员，期间。明尼苏达州是一个大的推动胜利。

The ‘Wolves didn’t get that push, but they got something almost as good. Just as Minnesota got up by 8, the game shifted to a far slower tempo. Both teams slowed into halfcourt play. Whistles came more frequently. Points came from the foul line, if at all. Had the score been knotted, it wouldn’t have hurt. But the Blazers needed points at the exact time they became precious. It was like taking a cross-country trip at the moment gas prices rose to $5.00 per gallon. The results were just as depressing.

As the lead rose to double digits, Portland’s chances of catching the Timberwolves dwindled. When last-ditch threes failed to fall, the Blazers had no choice but to succumb. It was a gallant effort, but ultimately a fruitless one.

Up Next

Stay tuned for extended analysis of the evening, coming soon!

BoxScore.

波特兰将在周一留在双城市，当时凌晨5点左右面对这些相同的森林狼。