The Portland Trail Blazers ventured into their second scrimmage in the NBA bubble Sunday against defending champion Toronto Raptors without Damian Lillard (foot injury) and came out with a 110-104 loss.
Here’s a quick summary with more to come:
It all ended when …: Similar to the team’s 91-88 loss to Indiana on Thursday, the Blazers’ backups were able to bounce back in the fourth quarter to make things more interesting. Portland (29-37) followed Toronto (46-18) 103-98 with 3:30 remaining after Jaylen Hoard scored on a layup.
Later, the Blazers lost 107-103 with 1:20 on the clock when Mario Hezonja almost got a steal in the backcourt, but the loose ball was picked up by Paul Watson of Toronto, who went straight into the lane for a dunk to do what. 109-103 with 1:08 remaining.
It appeared and showed: Portland guard CJ McCollum led the Blazers with 21 points in 24 minutes. He made 7 of 12 shots, including 3 of 4 from a three point range. … Center Jusuf Nurkic did not shoot well (4 of 13) but scored 17 points and added 13 rebounds and five assists, all in 27 minutes.
Toronto got 18 points from forward Pascal Siakam and 19 points from center Serge Ibaka.
Whiteside returns: Center Hassan Whiteside, who missed the first scrimmage with a calf and an Achilles injury, started alongside Nurkic and scored six points in the first quarter. Those would be all the points Whiteside would score in 18 minutes. He also had five rebounds and two blocked shots.
Fighting from a distance: For the second time in two practice games, Portland fought from a three-point range. The Blazers made just 7 of 28 (25 percent) against Toronto after sinking 5 of 26 (19.2 percent) against Indiana on Thursday.
As mentioned, McCollum made 3 of 4 three-point shots. The rest of the team made 4 of 24. Anfernee Simons made 2 of 6. Gary Trent Jr., who started in place of Lillard, missed all four three-point shots.
Following: Portland plays its final game Tuesday against Oklahoma City. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 pm. The first of Portland’s eight games to begin the playoff sowing process is July 31 against Memphis (32-33).
– Aaron Fentress | [email protected] | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).
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