Trail Blazers Strike Early, Fall Late to the Miami Heat

February 28, 2024February 28, 2024 Admin

The Portland Trail Blazers played one of their best first quarters of the season as they faced the Miami Heat on Tuesday night. Jerami Grant and Anfernee Simons scored like hotcakes. Deandre Ayton provided height, active defense, huge rebounding, and plenty of points in a fantastic outing.

In true Trail Blazers fashion, though, Portland couldn’t outrun their own mistakes or the curses of fate. Ayton sprained his hand and could not report for the second half. Portland missed a ton of shots at the rim and turned over the ball to boot. A 13-point lead after one quarter dwindled to 10 at the half, then a deficit after three. In the end, Miami took the —— victory.

Anfernee Simons led the Blazers with 26, followed by Jerami Grant with 24. Jimmy Butler scored for the Heat on just 12 field goal attempts Miami shot 52.9% from the field, 53.8 from the three-point arc. The teams combined for 38 turnovers.

Here’s how the action unfolded.

First Quarter

The Blazers started off the game on a hot run. Threes from Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant, plus a couple of free throws, staked them to an 8-0 lead in the first 2:30 of play. Portland’s fast, near-frantic defense also caught the Heat flat-footed. The Blazers were running faster and jumping higher than their veteran visitors.

But Miami wasn’t fazed. They forced four turnovers, leading to a couple run-outs and, just as importantly, robbing Portland of the opportunity to shoot. A 10-2 lead at the 8:59 mark shrank to 10-6 with 7:49 remaining.

Having taken the haymaker, the Blazers settled down and protected the ball on offense while maintaining their up-tempo “D”. Deandre Ayton blocked Jimmy Butler in the lane, then hit a short jumper the next trip down the floor. Kris Murray stripped the ball from Bam Adebayo and ran out. The Blazers weren’t exactly outplaying the Heat, but you couldn’t tell the difference between the two teams. That was a victory for Portland.

A three-pointer from Grant and an alley-oop conversion by Ayton off of a Simons pass gave the Blazers their first real separation. Portland pushed the lead to 17-6 with 6:17 left, then 20-7 by the 5:00 mark.

Ayton remained active on the defensive end, as spry as we’ve seen him all year. Simons got hot with his jumper at the same time. All of a sudden. Portland led 25-10, having forced 6 turnovers from the Heat. A little over three minutes remained in the glorious period. Could the Blazers hold on for their best first quarter of the season?

The chances took a slight blow when Ayton had a scary collision with Kevin Love on a charge in the lane. The 7-footer came down on his back from wayyy in the air, with his hand bending under him. He checked out and went to the locker room.

Portland finished out the period solidly, though. Miami shot just 6-21, 29%, in the first. Portland led 28-15 at the horn.

Second Quarter

Jimmy Butler and Kevin Love took over as the second period began. Butler destroyed the Blazers in the paint off the dribble. Love helped by hitting a three. When Butler hit Delon Wright for an unopposed layup with 9:02 remaining, the Heat had crawled back within 6, 33-27. The easy bucket at the end of a strong Miami run prompted Head Coach Chauncey Billups to call a timeout to regroup.

The good news for Portland is that Ayton checked into the game. apparently hale and whole. He dunked on the possession after the timeout. Butler answered on the other end, but Simons stroked a three. Ayton hit a hook. Caleb Martin hit a three for the Heat. Toumani Camara stroked a three right after. The tough defense of the first period was turning into a bona fide shootout in the second. The score read 45-34, Portland at the 5:53 mark when Ayton dunked home a Simons miss. That caused Miami Head Coach Erik Spoelstra to call his own timeout, with some reorganization necessary.

Portland forced Miami into a 24-second violation on the opening possession after the timeout. Then Ayton grabbed an offensive rebound—his ninth board to that point, and it wasn’t even close to halftime yet—leading to a Camara three-point play. This was Portland’s half for sure.

Miami made a bit of a run during the final 3:00 of the second. A Terry Rozier three and some forced turnovers helped them take the lead below double digits. But Camara hit a three as well, preserving a 56-46 lead for Portland at the half. Four Blazers scored in double figures before the half, led by Grant’s 16. Ayton had 12 points and 10 rebounds at intermission.

Third Quarter

The third period started with a “Ruh Roh, Raggy” moment for Portland as Duncan Robinson stroked a pair of threes, bookending a Jimmy Butler steal and dunk. Miami looked more active on defense. They also moved the ball far better on offense. Coach Billups called the panic timeout just 1 minute, 14 seconds into the quarter with Portland leading 56-54.

Compounding Portland’s problems: Deandre Ayton was listed officially as questionable to return as a result of a hand sprain from the fall taken in the first period. The Blazers would miss his rebounding, and much more, for the rest of the game.

Jimmy Butler and Toumani Camara traded steals of each other. One made shot later, the Heat were within one. Anfernee Simons hit a three, then Nikola Jovic hit one too. The teams played back and forth like that for the next few minutes, with Portland scoring to try and escape, Miami putting it in right after to get back within a point.

Jovic broke the streak at the 6:00 mark, hitting his second three of the period to knot the score at 67. Jovic scored again, then Terry Rozier put one in, and the Heat finally led 73-71 with 4:00 remaining.

Portland continued to struggle on offense as the quarter closed. Absent Ayton, they didn’t have the middle-of-the-court threat to keep the Heat from hounding Simons and Grant, or to grab the resulting missed shots. Watching Portland’s ancillary players loft shots was an exercise in frustration. Jabari Walker tried to fill in for Ayton, but despite scoring 5 in the period, it just wasn’t the same. Miami led 80-76 after three.

Fourth Quarter

Toumani Camara made a couple of shots at the top of the fourth to bring the Blazers back even with Miami. Full credit to him, giving the starters a shot when they checked back in with 9:30 remaining.

Unfortunately for Portland, top-tier starters weren’t getting many of the shots from their offense. Miami forced the ball into the hands of third- and fourth-options. Shot attempts were coming from Reaths and Thybulles and Haganses on one end, Butlers and Loves and Roziers on the other. These things are not the same.

Portland stayed within shouting distance. The Heat barely got up by 5 for long. But the Blazers’ best bet seemed to be waiting for the road-weary, back-to-back-playing opponent to tire. Miami combatted that by driving stubbornly, drawing fouls and easy free throws instead of trying to force short-falling jumpers. It was effective enough to keep the Heat on the inside track for the win. Miami led 91-86 with 7:30 remaining, Portland already in the foul penalty.

The key turn came in the sixth minute of the fourth, when Terry Rozier hit a three, then Bam Adebayo forced a steal and earned a frustration foul from the Blazers for his trouble. He hit one of the free throws, putting Miami up 95-88 with 6:21 remaining.

Anfernee Simons tried to carry the Blazers onward, but he couldn’t hit his jumpers. Jaime Jacquez, Jr. had to problem stroking one at the 4:03 mark, pushing the Heat past the hundred-point barrier, putting Miami up 101-90. At that point it was too much lead, too little clock, and the Blazers. Simons put in a couple shots late to save respectability, but it didn’t end up mattering. Portland ended up scoring just 40 points in the second half. Miami had 34 in the third period alone. The second half wasn’t pretty, but without Ayton, it was somewhat understandable. Or as much as anything is in Portland’s benighted season.