凤凰太阳在星期五晚上击败了波特兰赛道，109-93，在Moda Center，将波特兰的纪录落到49-28.
凤凰太阳在星期五晚上击败了波特兰赛道，109-93，在Moda中心，将波特兰的纪录落到49-28。
当一支球队积极播放时7月份的拉斯维加斯夏季联赛两周，当时季节在10月份开放时，无需囚犯，您可以打赌它在季后赛的不可知的射击时，它会在4月滑落时爆发。
Suns GM Ryan McDonough和教练Jeff Hornacek负责任地享用啤酒在Moda Center的媒体用餐室后见证Phoenix吹打开了一个拥有30-13个第四季度的竞争游戏，一个门砰的一圈在帮助太阳仍然存在于西方最终季后赛的灰熊队。去年4月4日，太阳有一个23-52纪录，并与临时教练Lindsey Hunter和Gm Lance空白分开。与此同时，麦克唐尼夫是一个相对匿名的凯尔特人行政师，霍恩克是爵士乐的助理教练。几个月后，这对手在拉斯维加斯在拉斯维斯的转变开始时盯着一个可能的20次赛季的桶。
在一个赛季，McDonough和Hornacek转变了一部不足的名单Mish-Mished激励和一些可疑的个性进入你的过度竞争的表兄弟，他们在感恩节和圣诞节赢得每个最后一次棋盘游戏，无论有多少家庭成员都留下了他们的感受伤害。你知道，那个坚持没有卫生间的人休息，绝对没有规则弯曲，甚至不是少女兄弟。您不想面对拼字游戏，普雷斯群，垄断，心脏，七张牌螺柱的太阳，绝对不是风险。你能想象埃里克Bledsoe将如何征服澳大利亚？ Would you really want to endlessly tussle with the Morris Twins for control of the Middle East?
Facing such a resolute opponent that had backed itself into a corner with two straight losses, the Blazers simply fled the scene when push came to shove in the final period. Sometimes you think twice about making a statement like that. Friday night wasn't one of those times, as Portland came out and admitted as much themselves.
"We did a pretty good in the first half, first 10 minutes of the third," said Nicolas Batum, after posting 13 points (on 6-for-12 shooting), 11 rebounds and six assists. "I don't know why we stopped, but we did stop. We can't do that with two weeks before the playoffs."
In the final period, Portland shot 5-16 (31.3 percent), lost the rebounding battle 15-7 and lost the free-throw attempts battle 13-4. They shot 1-for-10 from outside 10 feet, went nearly six minutes without a field goal, and conceded 11 second-chance points. The Blazers entered the fourth leading by one point and wound up waving the white flag with more than a minute remaining in the game. Three quarters of quality effort just went poof.
"They outplayed us, I don't know," coach Terry Stotts said, struggling for words after his team let its first opportunity to clinch a playoff spot slip away. "Maybe it's just a bad match-up for us, I don't know. I don't know [what happened in the fourth quarter]. I don't know how I would describe it."
Philosophically, the Suns' modus operandi is straightforward: they want to force you to match their insane energy and to beat them on talent and/or experience. Stylistically, they have a lot going on. When Bledsoe and Goran Dragic hit the open court, "running downhill" -- a football term -- doesn't quite go far enough. The two guards are riding a ski jump slope or an extended funnel straight to the rim, and they possess just enough burst and unorthodox twists once they get to the basket area to make defending them that much more difficult.
"When they get a rebound, they're gone," Batum lamented, and the same can be said for Phoenix's ability to take turnovers to the house.
Damian Lillard added: "We haven't been able to stop them in transition. We allowed them to get out and hit threes, get into the paint and make plays. We haven't been able to take that away from them the whole season."
As for the Suns' offensive rebounding -- 23 on the night to produce 19 second-chance points -- it's easy to envision these guys practicing all afternoon in a high school gym, with Hornacek lobbing loose balls and shouting things like, "First team with five players bleeding due to court burns wins!" Batum and LaMarcus Aldridge both compared Bledsoe's rebounding to that of Thunder All-Star guard Russell Westbrook after he generated, and then converted, multiple scoring opportunities by hitting the glass hard during the final period. Bledsoe would finish with a career-high 30 points (on 9-for-17 shooting), seven rebounds and three assists.
"We did a good job with the initial possessions but we've got to close it out on them," Robin Lopez said of Portland's defense. "They had way too many second-chance opportunities, any NBA team is going to put the ball in the bucket when they get that many opportunities. I can't stress it enough. They just had more opportunities than us. They shot the ball worse than us, but they shot close to 100 times."
Indeed, Phoenix's 97 field goal attempts tied for the fourth-most attempted by a Portland opponent in a non-overtime game this season. Had Portland's three-point shooting or its ability to convert from the stripe been on, perhaps this contest could have had a different outcome. Instead, it was the third double-digit loss to the Suns this season, another game where phrases like "out-hustled," "out-worked" and "outplayed" were scattered throughout Portland's post-game comments.
The spark that first lit the Suns' fuse was Gerald Green, who scored 32 points (on 12-for-20 shooting) and added five rebounds and two assists. The former Dunk Contest champion is what happens when you take a video game character and set his leaping ability, self-confidence and tunnel vision ratings to 99; he tossed an alley-oop to himself off the backboard for a dunk and poured in points from seemingly everywhere down the stretch. All told, Green and Bledsoe combined for 26 fourth-quarter points, leaving the Blazers with no answers.
"I saw him play a game similar to that, he had 40," Lillard said, referencing Green's career-high 41-point effort against the Thunder back in March. "We knew he was an explosive scorer, shooting the ball really well this year. He got on one. He started to make everything, he was feeling it, he played a great game."
Pure compliments; no answers.
Rather than riding to an officially clinched postseason spot on a five-game winning streak, the Blazers deserted the locker room quickly with the knowledge that they can play for another day. The defeat, coupled with a Houston victory over Oklahoma City, makes it exceedingly unlikely that the Blazers will be able to claim homecourt advantage in a series against the Rockets. The past few weeks have seen Portland alternate between looking backwards and forward as if they are parallel parking, and their attention now must shift backwards again, with their lead over the Warriors cut to 1.5 games after Golden State thrashed Sacramento.
"We're at the point now where we can't have any lulls right now," Aldridge said, although his flat tone could have put a child to sleep. "We lost this one and we definitely didn't want to lose it. We don't feel good about it. We've got to learn from it and bounce back."
Random Game Notes
Terry Stotts' Post-Game Comments
Opening comments
I'm glad we don't have to play Phoenix any more. They just really play well against us. They average above 40 points in second-chance points and fast break points against us, they pushed the tempo, they were active on the offensive glass, extra possessions hurt us. Usually I like our chances when we hold a team to 40 percent shooting. Give them credit, Gerald Green got it going, he played a fantastic game. Bledsoe was very aggressive going to the basket, making his plays. They outplayed us. I don't know. Maybe it's just a bad matchup for us, I don't know.
Fourth quarter
I don't know. I don't know how I would describe it. We struggled scoring, Gerald made some big momentum plays that energized them. We got down 10 or 12. We couldn't mount a charge after that.
Rebounding struggles
Probably a little bit of everything. There's some boxing out, they went and got some of them, some of them we had the ball in our hands and didn't secure it, sometimes it was a 50/50 ball and they came up with it. Some of that's them. Some of that's us. When you give up 23 offensive rebounds, there's probably a host of reasons.
Gerald Green
Gerald is a wild card, he can get it going. First two shots he hit, it came off a flare and he hit a three. He came down and hit another three. Hit one in transition later. He's the type of player that can get hot for them. When he gets it going, he elevates, it's a difficult shot to defend when he gets it going. I've seen him do that before.
Nicolas Batum's defense on Goran Dragic
I thought we did a good job on Dragic. They kind of went away from him a little bit. The second half was more [Eric] Bledsoe and ball screens. Our defense -- you hold them to 40 percent shooting and you take the three out with 28 percent from three. They were aggressive, got to the free-throw line, the extra possessions hurt us.
Other playoff teams that present same challenges as Phoenix
I don't know but I'm not going to talk about the playoffs right now.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
Gerald Green，Eric Breedsoe，而Goran Dragic佩戴轮辋的橙色，因为凤凰太阳闪亮波特兰在季后赛强度匹配中提交燃料。
记住在赛季开始时的回馈当每场比赛是一种感觉出的过程，当波特兰径燃烧器在他们的计划和欲望嗅到嗅探之前，在他们的对手上工作悲伤？如果有任何疑问仍然是那些沙拉日 - 他们的服务员赢得 - 很长一段时间，今晚在燃烧者和 Phoenix Suns 解散了它。燃烧者今晚走了楼梯间，钥匙叮当声，只发现太阳等着他们。 jeff hornacek 说，“Jerry”。 terry stotts 回复，“纽曼”。而倒下，拖延，本世纪的争吵是开启的。不幸的是，对于波特兰，Tubby Mailman赢得了这一轮，因为太阳在一个充满了他们的比赛中拥有最后的浪涌，将燃烧器踢到109-93 romp的遏制。 每春天的那些人那个 ncaa锦标赛比NBA篮球更好，因为那些大学生 "care so much" and "fight for every possession" while NBA players are "lazy and overpaid" should be forced to watch the first couple quarters of this game. You will not find a finer example of two teams who, though limited, fought with every inch of their ability to put the ball in the bucket and deny each other daylight. It was like they replaced the sideline Gatorade with Red Bull. Everybody had wings. Phoenix came out slicing right into Portland's weak spots. They moved the ball for big-man jumpers, which mostly missed. Then they said, "Screw it" and just let their guards drive into the teeth of Portland's defense. That worked. And how. When the Blazers adjusted by packing the middle the Suns switched to three-pointers. They were less successful from range but they still managed to keep the Blazers moving. Rebounding stayed strong for Phoenix, obviously a point of emphasis against Portland. The Suns also benefited from reserve guard Gerald Green going red-line-level crazy as the quarter came to a close, pouring in 10 points in the final 5 minutes. The Blazers were no slouches themselves. They hit the offensive glass, made good use of Robin Lopez's big body, moved the ball quickly, and shot freely. Whenever the Suns got ahead by more than 2 the Blazers would just pour in another jumper. Both teams acquitted themselves fairly well in the first. Phoenix walked with a 28-26 lead. Cracks in Portland's facade began to widen in the early- to mid-second period. Portland's second unit still scored reasonably thanks to the overtime-working Lopez, Mo Williams, and Dorell Wright. But the Blazers couldn't stop any of Phoenix's smaller players. Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe gave way to Green and Ish Smith. The key to Phoenix's attack was as simple as it was brilliant. Portland relies on offensive rebounds, meaning 1-3 players will hang back on nearly every Blazer shot attempt. That Phoenix managed to grab those boards away from the Blazers was admirable, but not in itself devastating. Opponents have done so before. But Phoenix made the Blazers pay for missing those offensive rebounds by extending their outlet passes vertically. You never saw a Phoenix guard take the standard position near the sideline to receive the pass after a rebound. Instead they sent their wings farther down and straighter out. The Phoenix defender would rebound, whirl, and whip a pass straight ahead to a teammate already on the run. By the time Portland's former offensive rebounders turned around, the Suns had the ball at halfcourt, often with a man advantage. This left Portland with a choice: go for offensive boards or defend in transition. They couldn't do both. After watching Phoenix score in transition repeatedly in the second quarter, the Blazers had to ease up on the glass. This took the heart out of their game. Even more, keeping the Blazers from scoring off the glass as the game progressed allowed Phoenix to get away with playing smaller lineups, eliminating another of Portland's advantages. The couldn't muscle with Lopez or out-duel Aldridge, so they just went with what they had. The Blazers never made them pay for those undersized, and high-scoring, lineups. Portland did end up with 13 offensive rebounds on the night, which isn't shabby. But with Phoenix fielding drivers and shooters instead of power bigs, that number could have been half again as big. The Blazers never solved this riddle, though. It would plague them throughout the second half. A strong run by Portland's starters at the end of the second period put the home team on top 54-51 as the half ended but nothing was solved yet. Halftime provided a chance for everybody to catch their breath, spectators included. The fight was going to get worse. As the second half opened the Blazers took a solid lead behind the machine-gun shooting of LaMarcus Aldridge. It was as if Portland said, "You want to see matchup basketball? Here's a matchup for you." Aldridge would score 6 in the first 3:30 of the third, en route to a dozen in the period. Nicolas Batum added some slash and jump to the offense and Portland carved out a 10-point lead by the 7:00 mark. Nobody over 6'6" could score for the Suns. Their guards drifted farther out on the court and lost their mojo. It looked like Portland had discovered the winning formula. Finding no success outside, Phoenix went back to what had worked in the first half: vertical outlets, fast offense, drive with guards. Bingo! They started scoring again. Oddly enough--and perhaps betraying a lack of experience in general and with playoff-intensity basketball--the Blazers seemed to relax after they built their lead. Carelessness crept in: a turnover here, a bad shot there, going too early in the clock with the last possession of the quarter. Mistakes were small, but numerous. Once again the Blazers seemed to know that they often win games without remembering how they often win games, as if they could say, "We did something good. Time for you to lose now!" and watch the other team surrender. The Suns were in no such mood. They closed the gap to just 1, 79-80, at the end of the third. Then, if there were any doubt that they would fight for the victory, Green dispelled it with a soul-destroying dunk at the top of the fourth...an off-the-backboard self-alley-oop out of trouble that left Green jumping for joy and Lopez saying, "What the Frizzy Hairdo just happened???" All of a sudden every Phoenix player looked like Superman and every Trail Blazer like Scrappy Doo, minus the scrap. The Blazers defended with all the alacrity of a late-career Andy Rooney, rebounded with all the might of Cousin Oliver, and moved around the court like a busted Segway. The Suns took full advantage, finding another defensive gear that the Blazers lacked. Portland's shots came farther out and harder-contested. Phoenix scored at the cup and made the Blazers look helpless...nowhere more so than on the glass, where the Suns plucked their own rebounds like they were tulip buds in a spring field. Blazer's Edge Legend Shavlik Randolph looked like a BEAST compared to his Portland counterparts. If they'd have had Luke Babbitt, he would have posted 20 and 10. Portland earned 13 points for the fruits of their fourth-quarter labor while the Suns scored 30. That was more than enough for the win...a sad, 109-93 ending to an otherwise entertaining game. Unless, of course, you're a Suns fan. Then it was just about perfect. Want to know what the Blazers did wrong? How much time do you have? As we've said before, Portland's plan is clear and statistically impeccable: make your shots worth more than those your opponent takes and get up more of them. If you can manage that you'll overcome shooting percentage deficits and other weaknesses. The Blazers attempted 85 shots tonight, the Suns 97. That's beyond "ouch". That's, "Give me morphine now or I'm going to pass out." 23 offensive rebounds for the Suns--the undersized, perimeter-oriented Suns--didn't help. They average just above 11 per game. Both teams shot 6-21, 29%, from beyond the arc. No advantage there. The Blazers drew 27 foul shots and Phoenix 31 but the Suns shot 81% from the line while Portland fired an uncharacteristically low 63%. It's like some Miles Plumlee got stuck to the ball and the Blazers couldn't get it off their hands. In any case, not only did they not gain an advantage at the line, they ceded one to the opponent. At that point we hardly need to discuss Phoenix being +18 on the break, +16 in the paint, and +6 in points after turnovers. Do the Suns care that the Blazers ended up shooting 43% while they, themselves shot only 40%? No, they do not. Portland taught them that. You want to beat The Rock? Might as well Rock Bottom him. What the hay? Why not use a Stone-Cold Stunner too. That's pretty much what the Suns did tonight. All of a sudden the high-flying Blazers register a little stunned and rock-bottom in the aftermath of this manhandling...not so much for fear of playoff seeding position but for fear of what might happen once they get there. One thing's for sure: they're fortunate they won't be facing the Suns. Not only do they have Portland's number, they just walked out of the arena with the damn cell phone. Individual Notes In a turn-around from recent outings, LaMarcus Aldridge's game was completely uninteresting tonight. Aside from that third-quarter flurry and some forced misses from Phoenix bigs you'd hardly know he existed tonight. I'm not sure if the team got too wrapped up in the moment and never settled with him or if he never settled himself. He did end up with 18 shot attempts but hit only 8, scoring 18 with 7 rebounds. Damian Lillard had moments, but every good moment seemed to precede an unsuccessful attempt to repeat it. Lillard's offensive game looked forced, though his 7 assists were nice. (I wonder if he didn't get a little homecourt credit there.) His 5-13, 2-6 from distance, 3-6 from the line line was much less nice. Lillard was also the red cape to the charging bull of those Phoenix guards. Phoenix commentator Eddie Johnson said flat-out, "Damian Lillard can't guard anybody." This was funny because...well...Eddie Johnson. All they needed to do was cut to Hornacek nodding on the sideline to complete the irony. That said, Lillard did little to disprove the assertion tonight. Wesley Matthews probably didn't either. And he shot only 3-9 for 9 points. Nicolas Batum at least shot 6-12 for 13 points but he went 1-6 from the all-important three-point arc. Batum was also rebounding with 11 plus he dished 6 assists. His defense might have been marginally better than his teammates'? But that's somewhat like saying a raisin dipped in rabbit poop tastes marginally better than just plain rabbit poop. Robin Lopez did what he could, which frankly was plenty considering the stylistic mismatch Phoenix causes for him. Outside-shooting centers, lightning-fast guards, teammates who can't stop anybody...what's he going to do? Lopez had a few "I'm Bigger Than You" moments but they weren't near enough to tell. 18 points on 6-9 shooting, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks. But if Lopez were asked to sing the Sesame Street, "Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?" song tonight, he'd be forced to name every member of the Suns roster. Plus he'd have to admit that they kept stealing his stuff and none of his friends cared. Stupid friends. Big Bird needs to smack Cookie Monster and Grover back in that locker room to get them straight. Portland's bench? Ugh. 20 points on 7-20 shooting combined, 5 assists, 8 turnovers, 14 rebounds, 8 personal fouls, and a serious walk of shame. The only guy who might be able to hold his head up is Thomas Robinson, responsible for 10 of those 14 boards plus one monster block. But he also committed 4 turnovers and didn't end up helping much overall. So now, Portland's 50th win will have to wait until Sunday night when the New Orleans Pelicans come to town. They have Anthony Davis and potentially-scary guards (to both sides) but they can't hit outside so Portland should be able to pack the paint, rebound, and find much more success than they did this evening. We'll all feel better then. The Boxscore in case you're a masochist. Timmay's Instant Recap and GameDay Thread Review in case you're a double-masochist. Bright Side Of The Sun in case you're a flat-out sicko. The Playoff Standings in case you also like to be nervous. Your Jersey Contest scores and the form for Sunday are HERE. This, at least, is a relatively safe link. If you like a little snark and humor added to your Blazer thoughts, follow me on Twitter @DaveDeckard. You can keep up with everything site-related @Blazersedge. --Dave (blazersub@gmail.com)
Portland Trail Blazers在他们的第50次获胜和季后赛泊位拍摄，但是与其中一个他们赛季最糟糕的第二半，在凤凰太阳被吹出（再次）时看起来有趣。与此同时，休斯顿和金州赢得了，将波特兰的季后赛播种为怀疑。
由拉马鲁斯·阿尔德里奇（18分，7个篮板），罗宾·洛佩兹（18分，13个篮板），尼古拉斯巴登（13分，11个篮板，6次助攻）和Damian Lillard（15分，7次助攻）。但他们向埃里克Bledsoe和Gerald Green提供了30多场比赛。
也，一个无法错过的文章在今晚的游戏期间发布，所以不要错过它：Sam Tongue对<目标=“_空白的”href =“//www.chasebar.com/2014/4/4/5581226/4/4/5581226/4/4/5581226/4/4/5581226/4/4/5581226/8/4/5581226/4/4/5581226/4/4/5581226/8-in-the-life-of-an-nba-media-member”>他的第一个作为媒体成员的游戏，在西装队的访问期间，在芝加哥的访问期间。
框得分
上半场：凤凰又准备就绪当他们在防御中混淆了波特兰，并利用了冒犯的车道。他们唯一没有答案的球员是Lopez，当菲尼克斯不在转型时，他们合理地成功地成功地举行了道路。太阳拿走了7分的铅，但是大部分半的击球后击中波特兰的复出。然而，燃烧者们又捡到了防守，太阳停止得分。 Portland took advantage for a 3 point lead at halftime.
Portland 54, Phoenix 51
Second Half: Portland jumped ahead by double digits while shutting down the Suns' attack, but it couldn't last, as a few unlucky sequences led to Phoenix cutting the lead to 5 points. From there, both teams played a game of "who can't make a bucket" for multiple minutes until Goran Dragic cut the lead to 3 with free throws. A poor ref call took the Blazers out of their game, and they gave up 4 quick points late to keep Phoenix within 1 after three. They took the lead on the opening possession of the fourth, as the Blazer bench struggled to keep with Phoenix's defensive intensity and athleticism. The Suns opened the fourth with 7 quick points to take a 6 point lead.
Out of a timeout, Lillard promptly hit a three-pointer to cut the Suns lead in half, but at the end he fouled on a three-pointer to give the points right back. Stotts brought the Blazer starters back in, but it didn't help as Phoenix built the lead to 7 again, then 10 on another Green three-pointer, then 12 on free throws. It was a complete disaster for the Blazers, who couldn't even get a quality shot. Lillard got to the line, but missed two free throws, and the Blazer defense allowed a Dragic layup at the other end as the fans howled at the home team.
The Blazers made a short run to cut the deficit to 10 with 4 minutes left, but Portland gave up two consecutive offensive rebounds, then a three-pointer to the Suns, followed by a 24 second violation of their own, as the fans growled out loud. After Portland failed to grab a rebound yet again, a Gerald Green jumper finished them off. The Blazers looked nothing like a team ready for the playoffs as they were outplayed at both ends in the second half.
What's Next:
Another day off for the Blazers, who have no more back-to-back games this season. Sunday evening, the New Orleans Pelicans are in town.
Gameday Thread Comments of the Night:
Thanks to everyone who participated in tonight's Gameday Thread! As always, here are the most popular comments, based on the number of Rec's from their fellow fans:
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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Injuries: No updates on Joel Freeland (knee), who is still expected to be out until at least the start of the playoffs.
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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
大型游戏今晚，因为西装外套赢得他们的第50场比赛并搭配季后赛泊位！
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.
-----------------
Injuries: No updates on Joel Freeland (knee), who is still expected to be out until at least the start of the playoffs.
-----------------
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