![\"NBA:](\"https:\/\/images.deadspin.com\/tr:w-900\/27556403.jpg\")
Nov 10, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) shoots the ball over Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black (0) in the second quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images <\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\nPortland heads to New Orleans for the third stop of its five-game road swing, still chasing the first win of the trip when the teams meet on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n The Trail Blazers suffered heartbreak on Monday in Orlando when Desmond Bane’s 3-point miracle at the buzzer sealed a thrilling 115-112 victory for the Magic.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n Bane’s shot prevented the Blazers from being rewarded for an impressive comeback. They trailed by 13 points with less than nine minutes to go and by nine with 2:32 remaining, yet nearly pulled off the win.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n With the score tied, Portland had possession with 4.5 seconds to play.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n Shaedon Sharpe inbounded to Jrue Holiday, who had it pinched from him by Paolo Banchero — Holiday’s third turnover for the quarter — before Orlando called time out with 1.9 seconds on the clock.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n The Magic advanced the ball and Franz Wagner inbounded to Bane, who took one bounce and swished a 27-footer over Toumani Camara.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n Interim Portland coach Tiago Splitter admitted the gutting finish was “hard” to take, but he praised his team’s resilience.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n “I think that’s one of the things that I promised when I got here — we’ve got to compete,” Splitter said. “That’s what the guys are doing. You’re going to win, you’re going to lose some games. … It’s a long season, but this one was hard.”<\/p>\n<\/section>\n <\/p>\n Sharpe tallied a season-high 31 points in just 29 minutes on 12-of-18 shooting. The fourth-year guard appears to have rediscovered his touch after his stroke was ice cold earlier in the season. He made just 5 of 30 from 3-point range in Portland’s first four games.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n “It’s the first game that I thought he was really himself and being aggressive, getting to the rim, getting to the free-throw line,” Splitter said. “He looks better. His legs are under the shot. Hopefully we have Shae like this for a long time.”<\/p>\n<\/section>\n New Orleans finished a three-game away stretch on a low note, on the wrong end of a 121-98 hammering on Monday in Phoenix.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n Trey Murphy III posted 21 points with 10 rebounds for the Pelicans, who were without starters Zion Williamson (left hamstring strain), Jordan Poole (left quad strain) and Yves Missi (illness).<\/p>\n<\/section>\n Phoenix opened a huge lead, putting New Orleans in a 73-41 hole early in the third period.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n “They just punched us in the mouth right away,” said Pelicans coach Willie Green. “Just a below-our-standard game. We did some things in the third quarter, chomped into the lead a little bit. But we’ve got to stop waiting as a team to get punched and then start trying to fight. We’ve got to start the game that way. Again, below our standard of where we need to be.”<\/p>\n<\/section>\n Green insists his team must improve defensively.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n “That’s where it all starts — our aggression and communication on the defensive end,” Green said. “If we can’t guard, then now you’re relying on scoring the whole game, and that’s going to be a difficult game for us.”<\/p>\n<\/section>\n The Blazers have won their last three against New Orleans and hold a slender 40-39 overall edge.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n