Boston — The Trail Blazers started the season with a road game. More than five months have passed and he has only one such contest left.
The Portland Trail Blazers ended a 15-day, seven-game road trip with a 124-107 loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday night in front of a sellout crowd of 19,156 at TD Garden.
“I thought we did well. We played hard,” Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups said. “We crushed them on the glass, we did a really good job. 22 points with offensive rebounds, which is amazing. But we just didn't convert enough. What really hurt us was at the rim. I thought it was just a judgment thing…A lot of times I thought we hit really bad shots at the rim, settling for long floaters and long twos. We just didn't do well there.”
The Trail Blazers are 21-57 overall and 10-30 on the road this season. With this loss, Portland ends its seven-game losing streak for the second time this season with two wins and five losses.
“I thought we had a really good trip, and it really was,” Billups said. “We played a really good team with eight guys and we were undermanned a lot of nights. We had a chance in Orlando and they ran away and beat us. We won two in a row and came here. We played a really good game, so I thought it was a good trip for us, and I really do. I'm proud of them, I think our young guys have grown a little bit on this trip. ”
In Dalano Banton's first game back with Boston since being acquired by the Trail Blazers at the 2024 trade deadline, he played 36 minutes for 28 points on 11-of-23 shooting, nine assists, and three rebounds. He led all scorers with one steal.
“I had a great time here, learned a lot and formed a lot of relationships,” Bunton said. “I'm grateful because I've met so many wonderful people and I'm sure I'll be able to build long-lasting relationships with them.''
Deandre Ayton had another double-double with 22 points on 11-of-23 shooting, 14 rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in 35 minutes. Jabari Walker also had a double-double with 14 points and 18 rebounds in 34 minutes.
Scoot Henderson had 15 points, eight assists, two steals and one rebound in 36 minutes. Chris Murray had 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one steal in 25 minutes.
Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 26 points. Peyton Pritchard had 20 points and eight assists off the bench.
The Trail Blazers have three home games this week, starting with Tuesday night's game against the Pelicans, before concluding the season on April 14th against the Kings in Sacramento. Here's the tipoff for Tuesday's game, which begins a week of fan appreciation events.Scheduled for 7 p.m.
