ORLANDO -- Even though it wasn’t the play they drew up, the Portland Trail Blazers had a great look at what would have been a game-winning shot in the waining moments of Monday night’s game versus the Magic in Orlando.
“It was not a good possession. Scoot (Henderson) went to the basket, I thought maybe there was some contact there, maybe he got fouled, but it is what it is,” said Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. “You’re playing against one of the best defenses in the league, there’s going to be some physicality. We’ve got to know that going into that area, but at the end of the day, we get (Ayton) a pretty much wide open 15-foot shot, which is his money. I couldn’t have drawn up a play any better than that to get a guy like that a good shot.”
Unfortunately, that good shot just wouldn’t go down.
After rallying from down 15, the Trail Blazers had a chance to get their first win of an extended road trip at Kia Center, but Deandre Ayton’s attempt rimmed out as time expired in what would end up being a 104-103 loss to the Magic in front of a sellout crowd of 19,004.
“That’s usually a layup,” said Ayton of the final attempt of the game. “That’s my second, third time in a situation like that. It felt good, I was happy there was an opportunity. Scoot did his thing, draw everybody in the paint. You get away with murder in times like that, shot clock off. He tried his best, got the ball to me, didn’t fall but having a game like that… there’s a lot of great stuff we can take away from that game.”
The Trail Blazers are now 19-56 overall and 8-29 on the road with seven games left to play in the 2023-24 season. Portland, which sits at 14th in the Western Conference standings, has now lost 10-straight and 13 of their last 15.
After enduring an embarrassing 60-point loss Friday in Miami, the Trail Blazers put forth a much improved effort versus the other Florida team Monday night. Though they would trail by 15 with a little more than three minutes to play in the third quarter, Portland would go on 23-7 run to take an 89-87 lead with 5:42 to play.
Orlando pushed the lead back to nine, but back-to-back threes from Jabari Walker and Dalano Banton would ensure a close ending. Jalen Suggs made two free throws, then Ayton answered with a layup off a Banton assist, followed by Paulo Banchero missing a three and the Blazers corralling the rebound down one with 15.9 seconds to play.
The Blazers weren’t able to advance the ball after calling timeout, so Henderson dribbled the ball up the length of the floor, driving to the middle of the paint. The rookie point guard looked as though he might be on the verge of turning the ball over, or at least getting called for a three-second violation before he flipped a no-look pass to a wide-open Ayton. The center, one of the best mid-range shooters in the NBA, got a great look at a potential game-winner, but just couldn’t find the bottom of the net.
“We got a good look at the end,” said Henderson. “I don’t know how I got it out, I just seen DA and I threw it behind my back, got a good look. I don’t know much time was left on the clock, I just tried to throw it real quick. That’s about the best look possible, we couldn’t ask for much better. You couldn’t have drawn it up like that.”
Henderson finished the game with 13 points to go with nine assists and eight rebounds in 34 minutes. Ayton went 10-of-18 from the field for 20 points to go with 12 rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes.
Banton led all scorers with 26 points while also filling up the rest of the stat sheet with five rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks in 35 minutes. Jabari Walker posted 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists and Rayan Rupert added 11 points, two assists and a rebound.
Franz Wagner led the Magic with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Next up, after five days in Florida, the Trail Blazers head to Charlotte to face the Hornets Wednesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.