PORTLAND, Ore. — Steve Clifford could not hide his frustration late Wednesday night.



His Orlando Magic had just played a superb offensive game but still lost to the Portland Trail Blazers, 115-112.



Clifford exited the visitors’ locker room and stood in front of TV cameras and reporters.



Fox Sports Florida sideline reporter Dante Marchitelli started to ask a question about a clock malfunction in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter.



“Coach, what was the explanation …,” Marchitelli said before Clifford cut him off.



“We gotta get tougher,” Clifford said. “Come on. You play that offensive game against that team in this arena? You’ve got to win that game. You’ve got to get some loose balls. We’ve gotta block out once in a great while. They hammered us on the glass. They beat us to every loose ball, which is a major weakness for our team.



“We got a (bad) effort...