Everyone on the Portland Trail Blazers bench was livid. Malcolm Brogdon was supposed to be waiting for a whistle to get a timeout. Then, everything turned for the worst against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Chauncey Billups did not like how bad the officiating was. It may even look like they will strip the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-led team of a win if the league rules in favor of them.
The Blazers are officially filing a protest to contest the outcome of their loss against the Thunder, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Portland was trying to call for a timeout in the dying seconds of the game. Instead, with a scoreline of 109 to 108, the Blazers head coach was not heard.
Officials would then call a double-dribble on Malcolm Brogdon in favor of the Thunder. They also ejected Billups from the game because the officials got an earful out of him. This sequence of calls effectively gave Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's squad a huge advantage. Eventually, the Blazers would lose a game where the deficit was just two points.
Billups was understandably mad at the outcome. He expressed it in his post-game presser, via Andrew Schlecht of The Athletic.
“Yeah. It was just a tough situation. We got timeouts…referees usually are prepared for that, that instance, that situation. I’m at halfcourt trying to call a timeout. It’s just a frustrating play. My guys play too hard for that. It’s a frustrating play,” the Blazers head coach said.
The Blazers meet their demise at the hands of the Thunder
Scoot Henderson is starting to get a better feel in the scoring department. He led the Blazers with 19 points. However, his efficiency leaves a lot to be desired. He only knocked down seven out of the 18 attempts that were launched in his game. Six players notched double-digit scoring numbers in the Blazers system despite the loss. It looks to be a good sign of things to come for the organization.
Meanwhile, no amount of teamwork stopped SGA against the Blazers. He was attacking the rim at will and forcing the defenders to foul him. At the end of the game, he finished with 33 points on 10 out of 24 shooting in the field. The Thunder superstar also knocked down 13 out of his 17 shots from the free-throw line.
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