Portland Trail Blazers, running on steam and with not much depth, are looking for answers to 2-1 to Los Angeles Lakers

Damian Lillard ran over the LeBron James above the three-point line and had a free-run run in the second quarter of the Portland Trail Blazers’ 116-108 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.

Standing between the 6-foot-2 Lillard and the course was the Lakers’ impressive 6-10 ahead of Anthony Davis, who certainly looks like he has blocked a shot like 1,300 in his career.

Yet Lillard did not flinch. The leader of the Blazers with deceptive hops and Oakland-born toughness accelerated past the free throw line, took one dribble as he collected the ball, dipped his body and then launched it to the court with clear intentions to dunk over Davis.

It would be the posterization to end all posterizations.

Instead …

Davis met Lillard in midair and denied his brave but ultimately condemned dunk attempt. Davis’ block was powerful and it was clean, and in several ways it defines this series, leading the Lakers now 2-1.

Portland’s run to the playoffs has been exciting and entertaining. Lillard’s play at the NBA bubble is legacy enhancing. The resolution and toughness of this team are admirable.

But at the end of the day, the team led by two generations of talent swatted away a lesser team that showed the heart needed to ride the track down against everyone but the firepower and overall talent lacking to finishes against a team like the Lakers.

It really is that simple.

The Portland offense is tuned by one of the best defensive works in the league. The Blazers’ defense, one of the worst in the league, cannot defend both James and Davis (few, if any, can). The lack of depth of the Blazers has become a major issue. Moreover, everything, with having played 12 games in 23 days since the replay, all with playoff intensity, has taken a physical toll on the team.

It is difficult to fight the top-seeded team in the West on an empty gas tank.

“I would not say it is the only reason,” Lillard said when asked if fatigue becomes a factor. ‘I think they play good defense. You have to give them credit. Maybe we were a little tired. We just did not make any shots. ”

But that’s exactly what can happen when a team gets tired. It gets harder to make shots. Also, it gets harder to play better defense to make up for making no shots.

Not only do the starters have to play big minutes, they have to do this while playing well enough to compensate for a lack of bank production. The Lakers ‘bench outscored Portland’s 24-5 on Saturday and 25-14 in Game 1. The bench’s score was more even in Game 2 as the Blazers’ bench logged a ton of minutes into the blowout. -nederlaach.

The running bank scoring difference Saturday essentially meant the Portland starters had to outscore the Lakers’ 20 starters to win. The differences do not end there. Five Lakers bench players combined for 23 rebounds and eight assists in 91 minutes. Portland’s four – man bench gave the team two handballs and one assist in 51 minutes.

Things were so bad that the top four starting quartets of Lillard, CJ McCollum, Anthony and center Jusuf Nurkic played the entire fourth quarter.

“I did not like doing that, but we had a bad stretch at the end of the third and I just felt like we had to ride those guys for as long as we could,” said Portry coach Terry Stotts.

That stretch included watching a 72-72 game reach 93-86 Lakers by the end of the third quarter.

Seven points is certainly not an insurmountable deficit. In fact, the Blazers came in early in the fourth quarter within 93-90. But then the pin wheels came off.

The fresher, deeper and more talented Lakers began to assert their will.

The lead was James, who defended Portland’s defense from the get-go attack, clearly determined not to play the role of passive facilitator. He had 22 points in the first half and finished with 38.

But it was Davis who closed the deal in the fourth with 12 points, including the final eight of a game-changing 12-6 run that left the score at 105-96 Lakers with 5:30 left. Davis finished with 29 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

“It came down to a fourth quarter game and Anthony Davis made his perimeter shots and we came down too often,” Stotts said.

Portland shot 8 for 24 in the fourth quarter with two makes in the final 33.2 seconds after the game was out of reach.

The Blazers also lost the rebounding battle, 55-38.

These are the harsh realities for a team that has its own power duo at the back that is just not as dynamic as the Lakers’. Lillard, who played with a splinter on his left index finger, which he unleashed in Game 2, was wonderful, especially in the first half. But come the fourth quarter, he and the entire team disappeared.

So how do the Blazers deal with this situation? They probably can not. Portland essentially won Game 1, as the Lakers shot 35.1% from the field and 15.6% on three-pointers. If they shoot well (50% on Saturday), their defense is able to take care of the rest.

Stotts said he felt the Blazers, who shot 41.1% from the field and 34.3% on three-point shots, did not shoot badly. But let’s not forget that this team leads the bubble session with 126 points per game. That level does not seem to be coming back against this Lakers defense.

“They have a lot of length, they have a lot of size, they can affect shots,” Stotts said.

That cannot be changed. At this point, it appears the only way the Blazers can win another game is if the Lakers can’t shoot a lick. But can that happen three more times in four games? Not likely.

After Game 3, Lillard and Anthony maintained a positive attitude, pointing out that the Blazers were only 2-1 in the series.

“We get the following and it’s a bond series,” Lillard said. “That’s perfect with me.”

Said Anthony: “We beat them first. They came out, got two games. Now it’s our turn to respond. ”

As Lillard pointed out during his ride with Davis, the Blazers’ heart and desire are there, but the ability to complete is lacking.

– Aaron Fentress | [email protected] | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).

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