Despite a feisty effort in the second and early third quarters, the Portland Trail Blazers fell at home to the undefeated Oklahoma City Thunder yesterday before heading back on the road for the next four games.
In his postgame comments, Blazers coach Chauncey Billups talked about the need to protect the ball (the Blazers had 19 turnovers to the Thunder’s 13), focus more on rebounding (Blazers 36, Thunder 45), and playing against a smaller Oklahoma City lineup. Billups also called out the Blazers’ lack of experience and praised how the Thunder for “lulled us to sleep” at times:
After going for 13-3-2 on 4-7 shooting, second-year forward Toumani Camara talked about the energy the Blazers brought in the second quarter to turn a near-20-point deficit into a brief lead before the half, how their attention detailed slipped as they let the Thunder go on a massive run, and how much more confident and comfortable Camara feels in his second year compared to his rookie campaign:
The Blazers shared a brief video highlighting forward Rayan Rupert’s 14-point night, which included hitting a career high four triples.