Chauncey Billups on who’s to blame for tough loss to Kings

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The Portland Trail Blazers failed in the second leg of a back-to-back game Wednesday night, losing to the Sacramento Kings 125-121 at the Golden 1 Center

Chauncey Billups’ side wasted the chance to not only win their fifth straight game, but move closer to fourth-place percentage points in the Western Conference after a chaotic start to the season. Making the loss particularly frustrating for the Blazers – aside from losing a game Richaun Holmes didn’t play and De’Aaron Fox was kicked out – is that they were lucky enough to take control in the second quarter, just like they did. in Tuesday’s landslide victory over the exhausted Denver Nuggets.

But the Kings ended the first half on a high note, cutting their deficit to two at intermission. They then used the confidence of a sparse but noisy crowd to ride a wave of fourth-quarter shots that Portland couldn’t overcome.

It’s not like Portland has completely collapsed late either, running out of chances for a rare road victory. Norman Powell tied the game by a 3-point score with just over five minutes remaining, and the Blazers had several opportunities to regain the lead afterward. Stops at the other end proved frustrating and fleeting, however, with Sacramento scoring 17 points on 5 of 7 shots and 2 of 3 deep after Powell tied the knot. Even a stellar attack late in the game might not have been enough for Portland on Wednesday considering how she bled points on the other end.

Billups lamented the Blazers’ mental treatment in defense after the game. What also clearly harassed him were wasted opportunities offensively as a win was on the line late, especially because the rookie coach believes he played a part in those failures.

“We didn’t have enough good shots, but it’s really my turn,” Billups said. “I take the responsibility of getting us into things at the end of the game, of giving the ball to the right people in the right places. I have to be better at this.

The box score told a more upbeat story of the Portland clutch attack than the action itself. Seven of the team’s 13 points in the last five minutes came after Sacramento extended its lead to 121-114 on a triple from Marvin Bagley III – the last player to kill the Blazers away from Moda Center – with 30 seconds remaining on the clock match. In the previous four and a half minutes, Portland has scored just six points and committed three turnovers.

Of course, Billups probably wouldn’t have allowed this critical self-reflection at all if his best players had hit their normal levels when it mattered most. Instead, Lillard went 1 in 3 with a turnover in the final minutes of the match, while work throughout CJ McCollum’s match culminated with a pair of freebies and not a single attempt at shoot.

Is this a quality look for Portland given the circumstances of time and score?

Considering Lillard had missed his previous five tries since halftime, maybe not. As the ball left his hands, however, it was certainly easy to imagine Lillard’s traction bomb dropping, another sign of his struggles dissipating at the start of the season.

Maybe he delivers in the same scenario as early as Friday’s game with the Golden State Warriors. But given Billups’ criticism of his hands-off approach at the end of Wednesday’s loss to an inferior opponent, it’s fair to question whether Lillard will have that chance – not to mention whether Portland will be able to keep up with the better team. of the league.

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