The Portland Trail Blazers lost 128-122 in overtime on Thursday night at home against the Detroit Pistons despite blowing a 23-point second-half lead.
The Blazers without Anfernee Simons, Deandre Ayton, Scoot Hendeson, Malcolm Brogdon, and Duop Reath are simply outmatched by the Pistons (8-43), who have Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, and Ausar Thompson with them.
The Blazers were the club with the thinnest starting lineup on a day when the Pistons shipped away eight players before the trade deadline, and Portland was done in the third quarter when Simons went down with an ankle injury.Simons left the game with 29 points in the third quarter and did not return, giving the Blazers a 92-69 lead. Things started to go wrong for the Blazers after that.
They were obliged to use Ashton Hagans, who had signed a 10-day deal with the Rip City Remix earlier in the day, to man the point guard position.
Blazers coach Chauncey Billups stated, “It was tough.” “I was genuinely sorry for Ashton.”
Hagan performed admirably overall, scoring four points and dishing out three assists. However, as Billups noted, it was difficult for him to be put in charge of a squad he was unfamiliar with in his first NBA game.The Pistons were able to double Grant in the last minutes due to the removal of Simons as a scoring threat.
A career-high 49 points were scored by Grant, including 19 in the fourth quarter. However, he was unable to generate enough baskets in overtime and late in the fourth quarter to hold off the Pistons.
Grant stated, “We were definitely short-handed.” “A lot of folks are missing tonight. But we must take action. It’s the NBA. Things take place.
In the second game of a back-to-back, Detroit defeated the Blazers 8-2 in overtime after defeating them 133-120 in Sacramento, an unlikely victory without Cade Cunningham.
The Blazers outscored the Pistons 36–20 in the paint throughout the first half. Duren finished the half with 10 points and 10 rebounds to help Detroit win 28–18. He had 22 rebounds and 27 points by the end of the contest.
Of Detroit’s 16 offensive rebounds, which resulted in 24 second-chance points, Duren had eight of them.
Jaden Ivey made all seven of his three-point shots and finished with a score of 26. The Pistons made 16 of 27 three-pointers, or 59.3%. In the second half, they were 7 out of 11.
