Heat 119, Trail Blazers 98: What We Saw
Sights, sounds and observations from Portland's first loss of the season, plus the Jersey of the Night.
The Trail Blazers suffered their first loss of the season on Wednesday night, falling 119-98 to the Miami Heat. It was an uncharacteristically sloppy performance that saw Miami take advantage of Portland physically and force turnovers while also shooting 39.5 percent from three-point range as a team to Portland's 32.4 percent. The Blazers lost Damian Lillard in the third quarter to a right calf strain, which Lillard doesn't think is serious.
Here are the sights, sounds and notes from the Moda Center on Wednesday, including the Jersey of the Night.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on Justise Winslow, who was drafted by Miami in 2015 and spent his first five seasons with the Heat: "He's fit in. I think the most important thing with Justise is his health. He's been battling injuries the last few years. He's had to find a role where he can really make an impact. But he does so many of the intangibles defensively. He's an unorthodox competitor because if you try putting him in a conventional box, that's not going to draw out all his strengths. But I think they've drawn out all his strengths at both ends of the court. You can see how he's impacting them."
Before the game, Chauncey Billups discussed the success the Blazers have had this season at defending without fouling. "I keep harping on it to guys the whole time," he said. "It's the worst play in basketball. Even a bad free-throw shooter is going to shoot 60 percent. If you're letting guys shoot 60 percent without anybody guarding him on the free-throw line, that would be the best offense in basketball." On Wednesday, Portland lost the foul battle for the first time this season, fouling Miami 22 times and only drawing 17 of their own. The Heat shot 16 of 19 from the line. That was a part of why they lost; the 19 turnovers were a bigger part of it.
As he did against Denver when Justise Winslow sat, Keon Johnson took Lillard's minutes when he exited with the calf injury in the third quarter. Assuming Lillard misses the Houston game on Friday, there's a chance Johnson will get the start, although I wouldn't be surprised if Billups gave the nod to Shaedon Sharpe and kept Johnson with the second unit. Billups has trusted Sharpe with real minutes in every game so far—a home game against a bad and inexperienced Rockets team would be a perfect opportunity to get him his first career start.
Speaking of Sharpe, his time on earth just barely outranks the Miami Heat career of Udonis Haslem, who checked in for garbage time last night for the first time this season. Sharpe was born on May 30, 2003; Haslem made his NBA debut with the Heat on Oct. 28 of that year. Here they are on the court together.
The Blazers' other rookie, Jabari Walker, had his shorts on backwards for his entire garbage-time shift. These are the important updates you come here for.
Jersey of the Night
