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Blazers’ Jerami Grant posterizes Scottie Barnes to fuel comeback bid
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- Blazers’ Jerami Grant posterizes Scottie Barnes to fuel comeback bid
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A game against the Toronto Raptors on the road was always going to be tough for the Portland Trail Blazers . The Blazers are missing a few key guys, and they're battling against one of the best teams in the East in the early goings of the 2025-26 campaign. Thus, it wasn't that big of a surprise when they found themselves down by double digits for most of the night.
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But Jerami Grant and company weren't going down without a fight. They've battled all night long, and they've climbed to within single digits. The game is now hanging in the balance, and Grant's emphatic slam surely did more than its fair share in empowering the Blazers to perhaps finish their comeback bid.
With 6:45 to go and the Blazers down by eight, 104-96, Grant, who's not a big presence on the boards, crashed the glass on a three-point miss from Kris Murray . The Blazers forward then proceeded to lower his shoulder against Scottie Barnes and threw down a mean one-handed slam that got the momentum squarely in Portland's favor.
Grant has become more of a finesse shot creator in recent years, so to see him use his strength on the interior has got to be a welcome sight for the Blazers. With the team missing the likes of Jrue Holiday , Scoot Henderson , and Matisse Thybulle , Portland needs every bit of energy infusion they can get, and Grant just gave it to them in a big way.
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Blazers' comeback bid is going to fall short
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The Blazers have outscored the Raptors by double digits in the fourth quarter, but the deficit they had to overcome in the first place was too big. The Raptors have gotten nearly everything they want on offense all night long, and this continues a worrying trend for Portland, a team that was supposed to be defense-oriented.
The Blazers currently rank 21st in defensive rating, allowing 116.3 points per 100 possessions. They're going to have to figure it out on that end of the floor if they were to truly challenge for a play-in spot in the loaded West.
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Grant did everything in his power, including make a difficult triple with 1.8 seconds left to cut the Raptors' lead to two, but in the end, it wasn't enough in a 121-118 defeat.
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