Blazers Fight Hard, But It Wasn't Enough vs. Rockets

The Portland Trail Blazers led after three quarters, but the win goes to the team with the highest score after the fourth.

Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant drives to the basket against Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason. | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Portland Trail Blazers are figuring out what went wrong after a 106-99 loss against the Houston Rockets inside the Toyota Center.

The Blazers had a lead going into the fourth quarter, but it evaporated during a 15-0 run by the Rockets. Blazers acting head coach Tiago Splitter expressed his disappointment after the game.

"Well, it's disappointing because of the loss. I think we fought, and then they got to make shots. We missed free throws, we missed shots at the rim, and we missed a three at 30 percent. We took care of the ball better, but there were a couple of loud ones there that they got in to score in transition," Splitter said.

"I think the guys competed and played hard. We had a chance at the end. At the end of the day, you got to make shots."

Blazers Cough Up Lead Late vs. Rockets

Portland Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday shoots against Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard. | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

One of the bright spots for the team was Jerami Grant, who scored a team-high 21 points for the game. He spoke after the contest about his team's performance early on and how the quality deteriorated over the course of the evening.

"It was solid. I think it was solid, especially for most of the game. I think we kind of let off the gas towards the end. They started making some tough ones, but it's a good team, so we got to go back to the drawing board and put something together," Grant said.

When playing against quality teams, the Blazers have to compete for 48 minutes, not just 36. That's how it appeared in the loss against the Rockets. They had enough to win the game if it ended after the third quarter, but they failed to finish, which puts a sour taste in their mouths to end the road trip.

The Blazers could have finished things off on the right foot for a five-game road trip, but instead it ends up in a loss, which hurts team morale at the end of the day. The Blazers had some positive moments throughout their road trip, but the main takeaway from it is that they only won two of the five games.

The Blazers have to be better if they want to compete for a higher seed in the play-in tournament. They need to correct their mistakes and come out strong with 18 games left to go on the schedule.