Well, that was probably not what Portland had in mind when they started this road trip. The Portland Trail Blazers fell to the Washington Wizards on Monday night 100-90 and are now 34-14 on the season and 15-9 on the road. Portland has lost three out of their last four games.

A new enemy emerged for Portland and was the reason why the Blazers lost this game in the end, turnovers. It had such an impact that the Blazers were shooting above 50% in the first half and they were behind. Now, you can say what you want about the defense, but there were stretches in this game where Portland played some solid defense. Washington had a few significant cold spells, but with turnovers and massive offensive droughts from the Blazers, Portland could not find enough momentum and energy to make a comeback. Every time the Blazers would threaten, as they always have, a bad pass or an easy bucket would keep Washington ahead and full of steam.

Washington outscored the Blazers 32-29 in the first quarter and that in it of itself was a disturbing quarter. Portland jumped out to a 7-2 lead and looked to be on their way to another solid performance. Then the defense lapsed. They allowed Bradley Beal to get an open three pointer and Trevor Ariza managed to get all by himself on the wing and set up for a swish. The Blazers did make a great effort in the second when they were ahead of the Wizards by 8. It started looking promising. After a couple of timeouts, it sure seemed like head coach Terry Stotts calmed his team down and the Blazers were executing well. Ball movement was at its best and Portland was making high percentage shots. The defense was also at its best in the second quarter. Unfortunately, the defense would not last as the Wizards would actually lead by one going into halftime. Again, there was another defensive lapse. Ariza and Beal were able to rattle off a couple of shots and John Wall would get to the FT line and score. All of a sudden, what was once a respectable Blazer lead had now vanished equally as quickly.

The third quarter was the same as it has been in recent games. The Blazers were only able to muster 14 points while Washington was able to pound 26 against Portland. Turnovers were rampant in the form of bad passes, bobbling the ball and, in some cases, just not paying attention. Washington read the passing lanes fairly well, but the turnovers, unfortunately, were all the Blazers’ doing. Portland tried to muster a comeback late in the fourth, but missed three straight wide-open three-pointers that made Blazer fans shake their heads and wonder where had the offense gone.

Now, Portland’s offense did show up this game, just in the first half. Portland was only able to score 35 points in the second half. The Blazers were only 6 points off to scoring that much in the first quarter. The second half woes continue. What was once a dominant and absolutely frightening weapon for the Blazers has turned into their worst enemy in this last stretch of games. The bench has also been horrid. Mo Williams and Co. scored only 6 points for the Blazers tonight, while the Wizards’ bench scored 26. Noticing a pattern? In the last game against Toronto, which the Blazers did end up getting the victory, the bench only scored 11 points. That is not a good sign and is something that if it does continue could end up being a trade deadline goal for the Blazers.

Portland continues to find it hard to score from deep. They went 5-for-19 and shot just 26%. Teams are now closing out hard against any three-point shooter and I even saw a few instances where Lillard or Batum would refuse to raise up in spots where they used to not even hesitate. Some of this may still be a slump, but evidence is starting to creep in that it might be mental thing for some of these players. Seeing hesitation or second thoughts from the three-point line is disturbing as one of the main reasons for their success was raising up from wherever they got the ball.

I could go on with stats, but the most important and telling one was the turnovers. Portland registered 16 TOs whereas Washington had a measly 6. Washington also scored a staggering 17 points off of the Blazer turnovers. That was the story of the game right there. Portland outrebounded, out assisted and scored more in the paint tonight than the Wizards, but Portland simply just could not hold on to the basketball. Now, Washington will force you into turnovers. During their previous game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Wizards forced them into 21 TOs. It is still frustrating for Blazer fans to see these trends appear. I would think fans are looking forward to the All-Star break.

Despite all the problems this game had LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard both registered solid outings. LA finished with 20 points on 10-for-18 shooting, 10 rebounds and 6 assists, while Lillard finished with 26 points on 8-for-19 shooting, 2-for-7 from there, 8 assists and 6 rebounds. Lillard’s three-point shooting struggles continue, but he is still finding a way to make an impact. His assist-to-turnover ratio was good as he only recorded just three TOs. Unfortunately, these performances did not come in a victory.

The Blazers will get a day off before facing off against the New York Knicks on Wednesday Night at Madison Square Garden at 5:00 p.m. PST. The Knicks just lost to the Bucks (yes the Bucks) on a buzzer-beater by Brandon Knight so I would expect them to not be too pleased. New York has picked up their play since the Blazers last met them and it should be an interesting matchup. Stay tuned!