The Portland Trail Blazers played with a much greater sense of purpose Tuesday night against the New York Knicks than they did during Sunday’s blowout loss at New Orleans.
But the results were the same. Another lopsided defeat. And this one is likely fatal to the Blazers’ postseason chances.
The Blazers, who mailed in Sunday’s important game at the Pelicans, jumped out early on the Knicks in the first quarter and led until late in the third quarter, when New York’s defense kicked in and shots started falling at a dizzying rate.
From that point on, the Knicks completely outclassed the Blazers to win 123-107 at the Moda Center.
The Blazers led until the Knicks tied it up at 68-68 midway through the third quarter. The Knicks grabbed their first lead on an a three-point play by Julius Randle that made the score 75-74 with 3:54 to go in the third.
When Miles McBride and Immanuel Quickley hit back-to-back three-pointers, the Knicks led 86-78 with 1:08 remaining in the third. They shot 71.4% in the quarter.
Leading 91-81 to start the fourth quarter, the Knicks went on 15-5 run to go up 104-86 with nine minutes left, and the Blazers never recovered.
Damian Lillard, who missed Sunday’s game with right calf tightness, led the Blazers with 38 points, but it came on 11-of-26 shooting. He did, however, hit 8 of 17 threes and had seven assists and seven rebounds.
Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard (#0) works against Quentin Grimes of the New York Knicks during an NBA game at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon on Tuesday, March 14, 2023.Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
WHAT IT MEANS
The Blazers (31-38) have now lost nine of their last 12 games and still haven’t defeated a team with a winning record since Golden State on Feb. 8. Once the Knicks (41-30), fifth in the East, elevated their play on defense, the Blazers, who were without Jerami Grant (quad bruise), couldn’t generate enough offense to counter.
The Blazers, 13th place in the Western Conference, caught a little bit of a break with the Pelicans (33-36) losing 123-108 to the Los Angeles Lakers (34-35). However, Oklahoma City (34-35) won 121-107 over Brooklyn. That left the Lakers, Thunder and Dallas (34-35) in a three-way tie for eighth place. The Blazers trail them by three games and must catch at least one in order to reach 10th place. That appears unlikely for a myriad of reasons with just 13 games remaining.
NEXT UP
The Blazers host the Boston Celtics at 7 p.m. Friday.
— Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook). Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts
