The Portland Trail Blazers were unable to carry momentum from their offensive explosion earlier in the week into Wednesday’s meeting against the Miami Heat, falling 115-109 for their fifth loss in the last six games. Playing again without Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, the team slogged through a brutal first half before Anfernee Simons keyed a second half rally that ultimately fell short. Simons finished with a game-high 28 points, 20 of which came in the third quarter.
The Heat were also playing short-handed, missing stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, among others. They were red-hot from three all night, connecting at an impressive 46% clip.