达米安Lillard在星期三晚上在明尼苏达州的森林狼队挣扎。由于波特兰的弱点在120-109损失中超过了它们的优势是不够的。
在整个 Blazers学者将注意到最近波特兰的四个半定义特性： 1。 2。优秀的三分射击。 3。进攻篮板和第二次机会点。 4。 Free throw attempts. 4.5. Damian Lillard heroics bailing out the team when the other three fail. Of those, the Blazers only the ".5" operated tonight. Aldridge shot 7-22 from the field, missing jumpers he usually hits in his sleep and scoring only 15 points. Portland shot 35% from the arc, 14-40. Those 40 attempts came on 94 shots, a 43% attempt rate on a night when the shots weren't falling. Portland got 10 offensive rebounds and lost the second-chance battle to the Timberwolves. The Blazers attempted only 19 free throws tonight, hitting 15 but ceding the advantage to the 'Wolves here too. Lillard did his best to run the Blazers back into the game with 36 points but it wasn't near enough. Blazers scholars will also note Portland's weaknesses: 1. Inability to defend the paint. 2. Susceptible to centers and guards. 3. Mediocre defensive rebounding. 4. Sketchy bench 5. Occasional propensity to lose opponents on the break. Though their strengths failed the Blazers tonight, the weaknesses made themselves at home like in-laws at Christmas. Minnesota destroyed Portland in the first half, obliterating them in the paint and at the rim. The 'Wolves had 54 points in the paint...at the half. They'd finish the game with 72 and a +38 margin. Minnesota dominated the boards early, forced turnovers on Portland's bench, ran the break, and made hash out of Portland's centers in the halfcourt isolation. Nikola Pekovic looked like Superman instead of General Zod's lackey, scoring 30. Kevin Martin added 22. After all that the near-triple-double Kevin Love registered in the first two quarters of play was just ridiculous. Love would end up with 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 assists. The 'Wolves led by 30 in the first half, doubling up the Blazers. Spearheaded by Lillard, Portland changed up their defense at halftime and made a couple runs in the second half, closing within 5 late in the game. It wasn't near enough. Minnesota struggled with an outside attack when Portland clogged the paint but eventually got it right, if nothing else because the odds dictated it. The Timberwolves got a little nervous but weren't really threatened. The Blazers just couldn't pull out a long enough streak to overcome that kind of deficit. Even with this loss, the Blazers just finished a 3-1 road trip. They'll take that every day and twice on Sundays. Tonight they ran into a team ready for them, committed to taking advantage of their weaknesses, and persistent enough to not let Portland get away with the miracle comeback. Watching Sportscenter the last couple of nights probably cured them of that. The curious thing about this game is that there wasn't much new to it. You'd think a blowout (or at least early-blowout) loss would reveal radically different things than a last-second win or a double-digit victory. Not really. The same strengths and weaknesses got shuffled in the mix tonight that are in there every night, perhaps with a little more intensity, but not wholly beyond the pale. This is just what it looks like when those strengths and weaknesses lead to a loss instead of a win...a blessedly rare occurrence this season. Individual Notes LaMarcus Aldridge did back up the substandard 15-point night with an excellent-standard 14 rebounds. He looked like he was pressing a little, like he wanted to save the team yet again. But too many things were collapsing around him to pull that off. By the time the defense recovered enough to support the scraps of confidence Aldridge managed to find, it was too late. Damian Lillard also tried to strap the team on his back and managed more success than Aldridge did. 13-24 shooting, a second great three-point night in a row with 7-14, 36 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals. That's a whale of an effort. Still, this team isn't built to prosper with a single guy carrying the load no matter who that guy is. Heroics are meant to get you through until the cavalry comes. Those bugles never topped the hill for Lillard tonight. Nicolas Batum didn't have a bad night, scoring 20 on 7-15 shooting with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. There just wasn't a ton for him to do. Corey Brewer is no offensive threat and Batum wasn't suited to watch Love or Martin, so his defense didn't tell. His shooters weren't hitting, the Timberwolves were mostly staying home on defense, so his passes weren't there or weren't worth much. Batum committed 5 turnovers and 4 personal fouls. Wesley Matthews scored 16 but those came off of 4-13 shooting, 2-9 from range. He wasn't able to contain dribblers and wasn't really a factor tonight. Robin Lopez got the double-whammy tonight. First his teammates let drivers loose in the lane so fast and so often that Lopez got dizzy just trying to track them all. Then Pekovic came in the middle and put 50 shades of scoring on him. Lopez got 25 minutes, grabbed 5 rebounds, and scored 2 points. Portland's bench was screaming-level awful tonight in ways we probably shouldn't get into as there may be children reading. To be fair, they didn't step into a great situation, continuity being at a premium. Nobody on the bench is going to come in and transform an awful game into a good one. Mo Williams tried, but his shot was mostly off (4-11) and his utter contempt for defense (6 fouls in 18 minutes) and reason (e.g. hucking up a 25-footer with 13 seconds left on the big clock and Portland holding for the last shot) ended up making matters worse. The Blazers return home to host New Orleans on Saturday night before getting a long Christmas break. Timmay's Instant Recap and Gameday Thread Review, now showing up on Google as the #1 result for the search "Ouch!" Canis Hoopus will be chanting, "Lamarcus Who?" There are more games left in this series, guys. --Dave (blazersub@gmail.com)
你不可能赢得NBA的每一场比赛。在五个晚上的第四场客场比赛中，波特兰开拓者耗尽了体力，在一场不平衡的比赛中输给了休息的森林狼。开拓者的领头羊是达米安-利拉德，他拿下36分，6个篮板，6次助攻和3次抢断。拉马库斯·阿尔德里奇(15分，14篮板，3助攻)，韦斯利·马修斯(16分，5篮板)和尼古拉斯·巴图姆(20分，6篮板，3助攻)也是重要因素。
这是一款你可以忽略它然后继续前进的游戏。森林狼队在主场休息，在输给凯尔特人后显得格外的饥渴。尽管在第三节的时候，开拓者试图扳回一球，但在整晚的大部分时间里，开拓者的表现都很缓慢。事实上，他们在最后阶段将领先优势缩小到一位数，这证明了他们这个赛季的用心和努力。第一节:开拓者在防守端仍然看起来很疲惫，而狼队在内线多次轻松命中。事实上，这就是他们在本节大部分时间里得分的方式。开拓者的投篮主要是短距离的，这一节的一些投篮失误看起来就像喜剧。开拓者在后场的速度通常很慢，而狼队很享受这一优势。 The Blazers were lucky to be within single digits.
Minnesota 31, Portland 22
Tired legs are showing. Too many shots are coming up short.
by Blazing Chargers
Second Quarter: The quarter opened with a Blazer turnover, followed by a Wolves offensive rebound and three-point play. The Blazers responded with a back-court turnover for a Minnesota dunk. It wasn't pretty. More turnovers and misses, and at the other end, more easy points for Minnesota, who took an easy 19 point lead. Then 21. Then 23. The Blazers seemed to have rubber legs, and Minnesota was clearly fresh. It was simply one of those nights. Out of the timeout, the Blazers missed more easy shots. The lead was soon 28, with the Blazers outscored 23-6 in the quarter. Lillard finally got to the line. And missed both free throws fairly badly. The Wolves missed a layup on a 1-on-4 fast break, and another player ran around all four Blazers for a rebound and layup. The score was 60-30 halfway through the quarter. Nicola Pekovic out-rebounded 4 Blazers for a tip-in. Twice.
Minnesota 69, Portland 43
4 games in 5 nights on the road, against a good home team with a day of rest. Guys look just tired in general. I’m not too upset, it’s the NBA, games like this happen.
by Darn you, darn you to heck!
Third Quarter: Here comes the Blazer comeback! The game turned quickly, as a few three-pointers fell for Portland, and (in a popular phenomenon) the calls nearly all sided with the team losing in a blowout. By the 4 minute mark, the former 32 point Minnesota lead was down to 12 after a Lillard three. And out of a timeout, Lillard and Freeland cut it to 10! But it's hard to complete a comeback that big, and the Wolves settled down and pushed the lead back up. Mo Williams missed a layup, Aldridge missed a baby hook, and Minnesota took advantage with back to back to back three-pointers. With 12 straight points, the Wolves gave themselves some buffer.
Minnesota 98, Portland 78
Fourth Quarter: Kevin Love hit a three-pointer to open the fourth quarter, and the Blazers were out of adrenaline, and serious comeback attempts. Lillard continue to hit three's to keep within sight of the Wolves, cutting the lead all the way to 5 in the final minute, but it was too little, too late. The frustrated team can finally head home after an exhausting 3-1 road trip.
What's Next:
Two full days off and a home game. The Blazers play the Pelicans Saturday night. Stay tuned for Dave's analysis later tonight, though. -- Tim
好吧，这不好玩。让我们结束这场游戏吧。
Welcome to the Gameday Open Thread at Blazer 's Edge!这是一个和你的粉丝朋友们一起享受今晚庆祝活动的地方。就像你在当地的酒吧看一场比赛一样，但最好不要用语言。预计会有一些分歧，以及相当程度的情绪变化。但我们会一起度过难关的。
1. No swearing
2. No pictures
3. No discussion of unlicensed Internet streaming
4. Be cool to each other!
Hang out and enjoy the game! -- Tim
Welcome to the Gameday Open Thread at Blazer’s Edge! This is a place to hang out and enjoy tonight’s festivities with your fellow fans. Treat it as if you’re watching a game at the local watering hole, but hopefully without the language. Expect some disagreements, and a fair amount of changing emotions. But we'll get through it together.
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The Blazers are expected to be at full strength tonight. Check here for any last-minute injury updates.
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The usual Gameday Thread rules apply:
1. No swearing
2. No pictures
3. No discussion of unlicensed Internet streaming
4. Be cool to each other!
Hang out and enjoy the game! -- Tim