On Sunday, the Portland Trail Blazers struggled to avoid turnovers and could not match the physicality of an Eastern Conference team in a playoff race.
The Trail Blazers hope to correct their issues Monday night when they visit the Brooklyn Nets, owners of the NBA’s fourth-worst record.
Portland has alternated wins and losses in its last six games and are 9-8 since a six-game losing streak left them five games under .500 on Feb. 3. While the Blazers have not been able to put together a lengthy winning streak, they still are comfortably holding the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
On Sunday, Portland began a five-game road trip with a 109-103 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Blazers committed 19 turnovers, an area of concern as of late.
Portland has committed fewer than 15 giveaways just twice in its past 29 games since Jan. 11. On Friday, the Trail Blazers earned a 124-114 win over the Utah Jazz by shooting 51.7% and hitting 17 3s to counter 24 turnovers.
In Philadelphia, Portland hit 17 3s again but shot 39.1% overall, one of its worst shooting efforts all season.
“We just got to get better,” Trail Blazers acting head coach Tiago Splitter said. “We just got to make better decisions.
“They just ramp up the physicality. We were not as physical as Philly. Philly was tough on the ball. They were denying every time we had the ball.”
Deni Avdija scored 25 points but also tied a season-high by committing seven turnovers and the Blazers fell to 0-4 in those games. Avdija committed six of his turnovers in the second half when the Blazers attempted to overcome a 14-point deficit in the final 5:34.
“Just our attention to detail, being sharp,” Portland center Robert Williams III said.
The Nets are 2-13 in their past 15 games and are starting to experiment with younger players in crunch time after officially being eliminated from the play-in race.
Brooklyn is returning home after taking an 11-point loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday and a 104-97 in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Leading scorer Michael Porter Jr. (24.2 points per game) missed both contests with a right ankle sprain and has been ruled out for Monday. Last week, the Nets announced rookie Egor Demin (foot) and reserve Day’Ron Sharpe (thumb) would miss the rest of the season.
On Saturday, the Nets rested Nic Claxton and nearly erased a 28-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The Nets scored 41 points in the final quarter while giving extensive playing time to rookie Ben Saraf along with other younger players E.J. Liddell, Tyson Etienne and Chaney Johnson along with Malachi Smith and Josh Minott.
The group combined for 31 points in the fourth while starters Ziaire Williams, Noah Clowney and Terance Mann did not leave the bench. In Atlanta, Claxton and Clowney sat for the entire fourth quarter while Liddell, Saraf and fellow rookie Drake Powell played the entire fourth quarter.
“We have young guys, rookies playing in the fourth quarter and getting a lot of experience. We have these guys that we need to know what we’ve got, playing high level to win a game,” coach Jordi Fernandez said. “Playing competitive minutes is way better than just playing minutes. And this was great.”
