The Portland Trail Blazers collapsed late against the Los Angeles Clippers in a 127-105 loss on Tuesday night to close out their Emirates NBA Cup slate. Despite coming into the game not mathematically eliminated from a wildcard spot, the Blazers sealed their fate with the blowout loss.

A one-two punch of Norman Powell and James Harden, who finished with 30 and 23 points respectively, was too much for Portland to overcome.

Here are some of the key factors from the game.

Competitive Start

The Blazers played a competitive first half, heading into the break with just a five-point deficit. The offense was shooting efficiently and they were able to force turnovers on the other side. The main factor working against Portland was that the Clippers were shooting 61% from the field and 40% from behind the arc.

Deni Avdija had a very impressive first quarter. He scored 11 points on 3-3 from downtown. He was able to extend that play into the second period as well. While the Blazers were unable to force Los Angeles into bad shots consistently, they had enough firepower to keep up.

Crushing Finish

That all came crashing down in the second half. After a decent start to the third quarter, the wheels came off, starting with an 11-0 Clippers run. A deficit that had previously been as low as two points suddenly ballooned to thirteen points by the end of the quarter. The fourth quarter started with more of the same as Los Angeles raced out to an 8-0 run, bringing their lead over 20 points.

From that point on, the Clippers were able to coast to a victory without their lead being challenged by the Blazers at all.

Revenge Games?

Los Angeles’ lineup featured two former Blazers in the starting unit in Norman Powell and Derrick Jones Jr. While neither of these players ended their tenure in bad faith, they certainly played with bad intentions tonight. The pair combined for 45 points on 17-25 shooting from the field and 6-10 from three. Portland could not stop Powell’s jump shooting or Jones’ drives to the rim at all.

Fan favorite Nicolas Batum also saw minutes off the bench. While he didn’t score, he contributed four rebounds and three assists in his 19 minutes.

Two Straight Shootouts

Portland has been a middle-of-the-pack defensive team so far this season, but this loss marks two straight games where the Blazers have allowed over 125 points. Both opponents also managed those scoring performances while shooting over 50% from three-point range. Portland ranks in the bottom third in the league in opponent three-point percentage which points to an inability to consistently force opponents out of easy perimeter looks.

When the Blazers cannot force an opponent into bad shots, or they have an abnormally good shooting night, there is little they can do to keep up. Last game against the Dallas Mavericks, Portland had a good shooting night in tandem with Dallas. However, this game shows what happens when the Blazers are unable to keep themselves in the game with their own shooting.

Missing Center Play

Portland grabbed just 29 rebounds in this game. Despite there not being many rebounds to go around with both teams shooting over 50% from the field, that is the Blazers’ lowest mark all season, beating their previous low of 36. Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III were greatly missed in this contest, Deandre Ayton was also held to a season-low three rebounds.

Ivaca Zubac of the Clippers led the game with ten rebounds, but no other player in the game grabbed more than five. Without being able to grab rebounds, the Blazers were unable to close out defensive possessions or get reliable second-chance opportunities.

Getting Outrun

Portland had 15 turnovers in the game, just two more than Los Angeles. However, a 19-6 fastbreak point discrepancy shows that the Blazers got outran more often than not. With similar turnover and steal numbers, the gap in points on the break generally is not as wide. However, the ability of the Clippers to capitalize in transition, contrasted with Portland’s inability to do so, allowed Los Angeles to capitalize with an influx of easy points.

Up Next

Box Score

The Blazers will wait to see how the NBA schedules their non-cup games in the next two weeks. Updates on their slate of games will be published soon.