CHARLOTTE -- The Trail Blazers started off their first extended road trip of the season, a three-game tour versus teams from the Eastern Conference, with a 125-113 loss to the Charlotte Hornets in front of a crowd of 14,960 Sunday night at the Spectrum Center.
“I thought we got caught up kind of playing their style, they kind of get up and down and run and play like you’re at the park,” said Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. “It’s easy to get caught up like that because that’s fun. It’s fun to play that way. We got caught up there.
The Trail Blazers are now 3-3 overall and 0-2 on the road this season.
If Portland could have played the way they did in the first half through all four quarter Sunday night in Charlotte, they almost assuredly would be leaving the Queen City with their first road win of the season. They shot 52 percent from the field and 42 percent from three, turned the ball over just seven times and tallied 17 assists on 22 made field goals.
Sure, the Hornets were scoring at nearly the same clip -- they went 20-of-43 from the field and 10-of-20 from three in the first half -- but with six additional second chance points and two more made free throws, the Trail Blazers managed to go into the half leading 60-53.
But neither the hot shooting nor the the ability to take care of the ball would carry over into the third quarter. Portland shot just 38 percent from the field and a miserable 1-of-16 from three in the third while turning the ball over five times. Meanwhile, Charlotte got 11 points and three assists from LaMelo Ball while the team as a whole shot 54 percent while turning the ball over just twice.
“I thought we did a good job in the first half of taking care of the ball,” said Billups. “And that third quarter we had a tough minute, maybe minute and a half stretch there that kind of cost us.”
And it would only get worse in the fourth. Charlotte would score almost at will in the paint and behind the three-point line in the fourth, shooting 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from three to close the game out.
“I can attribute that to over-helping,” said Billups. “A lot of times we were okay, didn’t have to pull all the way in under the basket, and we did so and it just opened up a free lane to three-point shots. I thought we over-helped on LaMelo’s drives knowing that he can make that floater, but we want to make him finish. If you overreact and you start looking at the ball, he’s whipping that thing out, guys are getting shots and those are loud shots on the road, those three-point shots. Again, just kind of a lack of focus.”
CJ McCollum went 10-of-24 for 25 points to go with eight assists and two rebounds in 37 minutes. Anfernee Simons went 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-8 from three for 19 points in just under 19 minutes.
Jusuf Nurkic had a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Damian Lillard also posted double figures in scoring (14 points, albeit on 5-of-20 shooting) and assists (12) while turning the ball over just twice in 37 minutes.
Norman Powell also added 14 points and five assists in 33 minutes.
Six Hornets finished in double figures led by 27 points from Ball. Kelly Oubre Jr. came off the bench to put up 26, Miles Bridges had 19 and both P.J. Washington added 17.
Next up, the Trail Blazers head to Philadelphia to face the 76ers Monday night in their first back-to-back of the season. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. on ROOT SPORTS Plus and Rip City Radio 620 AM.
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