The Portland Trail Blazers squandered a seven-point halftime lead on Sunday, falling to the Charlotte Hornets 125-113 on the first leg of a tough Eastern Conference back-to-back. Here are three takeaways from the Blazers’ Halloween loss to Charlotte, one highlighted by another sinister shooting night from Damian Lillard.
Porous Second-Half Defense
Portland got control of this game right before halftime, closing the second quarter on an 11-4 run with stellar passing and active defense. Charlotte wasn’t exactly struggling to find makable looks and went into intermission with 17 assists, but the Blazers’ energy and engagement on defense at least made offense difficult to come by for the home team at times.