Portland Trail Blazers: 3 takeaways from discouraging Game 5 loss vs. Nuggets

3. An offensive power outage

Off-games are a normal part of the basketball grind. However, the Trail Blazers suffered a type of futility that is rare by their standards. Portland ended Tuesday evening shooting 36.7 percent from the field, 27.0 percent from 3-point range and 53.3 percent from the free throw line. Those numbers are all lows for this playoff run.

Their free throw percentage, specifically, was the worst in a Blazer playoff game since Game 1 of the 2003 first round and their worst in any game since Dec. 23, 2017. Their two most egregious misses came off of separate four-point play opportunities by Damian Lillard. Made 3-pointers that lead to and-1s can be huge momentum shifters for any team. Failing to capitalize on either one had to be deflating for the Blazers.

It wasn’t just the free throw line, though. Portland couldn’t get anything going offensively. In some cases, it was bad shot selection. Other times, the Nuggets’ defense was energetic and athletic enough to bog things down and force difficult shots. The Blazers looked to attack Jokic off the dribble in multiple instances, but he happened to be alert enough on Tuesday to keep up with attackers and alter their attempts.

Portland had a rough night scoring at all levels on Tuesday night. It’s unsettling that this occurred in such an important game, and the team will have to quickly figure out how to turn things around as it faces elimination in Game 6.