That respectability lasted approximately 2.5 nanoseconds after the second half commenced, as Boston proceeded to nuke the Blazers back into the Stone Age. They demonstrated an element that Portland hasn’t mastered yet: suffocating defense. Their guards pressured the Blazer backcourt hard, occasionally employing help from bigs but mostly just getting in Portland’s jocks and Portland’s head. Driving and passing lanes that opened easily in the first half now required 6 dribbles and 3 changes of direction to find. McCollum and Damian Lillard were capable of those moves, but Portland’s offense depends on reading, timing, and correct anticipation.
With the defense so tight and the guards taking so long to come free, none of the off-ball players could tell when and where the next opening would appear.