波特兰开拓者队以111-104击败休斯顿火箭队，周四在莫达中心，波特兰开拓者队以111-104击败休斯顿火箭队，将战绩提升至19-4。
周四在莫达中心，波特兰开拓者队以111-104击败休斯顿火箭队，将战绩提升至19-4。
在过去几周里，拉马库斯·奥尔德里奇（LaMarcus Aldridge）周围出现了改变声誉的势头，这是一种集体的尊重，不仅仅是“MVP”的口号，每当他在主场走到罚球线时，这些口号就会不断出现。波特兰队获胜，韦斯利·马修斯和尼古拉斯·巴图姆强烈表示支持，职业生涯最高数据，两项西部最佳球员奖，全国媒体成员的尊重，而一些与知名对手对抗的标志性表演，也为一个一直过着——在某些情况下还培养着——没有嗡嗡声的生活的球员带来了新的轰动。周四是奥尔德里奇将在12月中旬发现的最大舞台，一场全国电视转播的对抗高质量球员的比赛，拥有多个全明星的大型市场团队。他再次赢得了这一天，就像他之前对阵金州勇士队、印第安纳步行者队和俄克拉荷马城雷霆队时一样，尽管他起步缓慢。中场休息时，阿尔德里奇10投3中，但他以31分和职业生涯最高的25个篮板结束了当晚的比赛，这是三年多来NBA比赛中首次记录到这些数字，也是开拓者队历史上首次记录到这样的组合。他说，11月5日休斯顿在波特兰的胜利在他的脑海中浮现，他经常让火箭队的后卫们看起来像人体模特，因为他在下半场12投9中以实现报复。
“这是一件好事，”奥尔德里奇谈到他的夜晚时说我真幸运。今晚是需要的。我只是一直感觉很好。我现在只是想做任何事来赢得比赛。”
虽然很难想象他不会获得这些信息，很容易看出他为什么会选择保护自己不受结果的影响。阿尔德里奇在得知自己的位置后告诉布拉泽西：“我永远不会得到这样的选票。”这正是在一个较小的市场中的现实，所以没关系。”
市场规模和球队人气是巨大的因素——只要看一眼本赛季或前几年的成绩，这一点就不言而喻了——但这不是奥尔德里奇的唯一因素。像凯文·杜兰特和保罗·乔治这样的球员本赛季的总票数激增，而且他们都在较小的市场打球。不过，钻研地理和人口密度问题要快得多，虽然他还没有准备好就这个问题发表演讲，但奥尔德里奇承认，他的名字识别和游戏风格都是限制因素。
他告诉布拉泽奇：“我不打算太深究。”但人们可能不知道我是谁，也不知道我在这里做什么。有些人可能就是不喜欢我的游戏。我不浮华。我不灌篮。我没有做任何真正令人兴奋的事情，你知道吗？“
不，我不知道，尤其是在这个时候，在看了那些禁区得分数字之后，在看到阿尔德里奇在佩雷的联赛领头羊之后，在看到他用他的标志性跳投瓜分了一支又一支球队之后。
奥尔德里奇以前也采取过类似的罗德尼·丹格菲尔德的方法，他所说的在过去几年里是有意义的。但实地的对话正在发生变化。他曾经是一个“积极进取的人”。现在，他的队友经常称他为“势不可挡”。他曾经是更衣室里的“我们的MVP”。现在，他的兽医同事们正在努力且经常地推动“MVP候选人”的角度。这种增长势头已经蔓延到走廊和走廊。他曾经是一个可以得分并让对手付出代价的人。现在，他是联盟最重要的球员之一efficient offense. Once he was a player that was respected but not quite feared, now he's becoming a problem that often can't be solved.
"He's a load," Rockets acting coach Kelvin Sampson said. "He's a load. I don't think I can remember seeing someone who takes so many hard, contested fallaway jumpshots and consistently makes them. He's really, really good. They don't really have an inside presence but Aldridge is almost like throwing it to a big center inside who plays on the block. He's as consistent with his contested jumpshots as the big guys are scoring in the paint."
One sure sign of a superstar is a player that leaves his opponents feeling hopeless. Former Blazers forward Shavlik Randolph once chuckled at the memory of going to training camp with the Heat. It only took one scrimmage for LeBron James to establish himself as the biggest, fastest, strongest, most athletic, most talented, smartest, most coordinated, most consistent and most competitive player on the court. His scrimmage opponents were left to hope, and usually wound up feeling hopeless.
The MVP conversation is a difficult one to broach, what with James in his prime and the Heat coming off back-to-back titles. The point isn't that Aldridge is as good or as important as James, but that the gap between the two players -- the gap between the best in the world and Portland's best -- has never been smaller. And that Aldridge, who until very recently was a very, very distant outsider, is in the process of earning a seat at the table.
What more was Terrence Jones really supposed to do on Thursday? What could the Rockets have reasonably done as a team to slow Aldridge down without giving up something else? Double him, and Portland's shooters have made teams pay. Front him, and Robin Lopez has stepped up to knock down mid-range shots. Leave him in single coverage and you can forget about it. Fail to box him out and he's going to eat down low. "The Blazers have answered test after test," you hear people say, and Aldridge is assembling a pretty impressive collection of pelts in his pouch along the way. As the video game numbers and "NBA 2K14" jokes piled up, wasn't there a certain level of helplessness being felt by Houston?
"Hats off to him" is the default phrase after an elite player gets it going, and there's been an awful lot of doffed caps over the last six weeks. There's always going to be a lag between when a player turns a corner -- or kicks up a tier -- and when the mainstream public recognizes it, but I wonder whether we're now firmly in the early stages of that transition, whether the momentum that seems to be gathering on the ground and in the Moda Center will wind up significantly boosting Aldridge's national standing over the next 12 months.
We know this much: Aldridge won't be "on the bubble" for this year's All-Star team and it's not too soon to re-open the All-NBA conversation, which has been dormant since 2011. A little playoff success did wonders for the likes of George and Stephen Curry in this year's All-Star voting, and it feels like a mistake to assume that a player who is performing at Aldridge's level -- certainly above any previous level of play, as an individual and as a team -- is doomed to a lifetime of no recognition.
"All those MVP chants, he deserves it," Batum, who finished with 15 points (on 5-for-11 shooting), six rebounds and six assists, said. "It's early right now in the season but L.A. should be in the starting lineup for the All-Star Game and be in the MVP discussion. He got big numbers and we win games. When you have big numbers like 31 and 25, and you're number one in the West, you've got to be up there. And he's up there."
There were little things to like about his night: He aggressively stepped out to guard James Harden on one possession, and the Rockets guard chose to pass out of the one-on-one opportunity; He stripped Harden from the blindside to help along a 10-0 third-quarter run; He drew shooting fouls on multiple occasions from defenders frantically attempting to contest his turnaround; He found and trusted in Lopez when Houston tried to front and load up on him; He sealed things with a key and-one in the paint in the game's closing minutes.
Whether the motivation came from the earlier loss to the Rockets, the TNT audience, the tight race at the top of the West, or the All-Star votes is secondary to the fact that "locked in and fully motivated" has been his default setting this season. Now, when he hits those stretches of extra effort -- like his 11 points in the first seven minutes of the third quarter -- it's almost always a game-changing experience. That, like the opponent hopelessness, is another sign of an elite weapon.
"Y'all talk about me playing mad, but L.A. plays mad too," Wesley Matthews, who had 18 points (on 6-for-16 shooting) and two assists, said. "L.A. is just growing, getting better. Everybody wants to put ceilings on players because of age, X amount of years in the league, [they] plateau at some point. I don't believe in that. He just continues to get better... [and] the better we play, it's easier for him."
The Blazers have never played better around him. Name a starter, any starter, and there's a good argument that this has been that player's career year. Lopez was the key supporting cast member against the Rockets, who enjoyed a 32-point, 17-rebound effort from Dwight Howard. Portland's center put up 16 points and 10 rebounds of his own; he lost his match-up but he more than did his job, as he wasn't annihilated.
In the fourth, Lopez blocked a Chandler Parsons lay-up and he saved a point by fouling Harden on a dunk attempt that surely would have gone uncontested by the Blazers last season. When he knocked down a mid-range jumper to put Portland up seven with 5:35 to go, more than one of his teammates pumped their fists. "If he's hitting that, we're not losing this one," their body language screamed.
"Robin plays the right way," coach Terry Stotts said. "Rather than give up an easy two and stay out of it, he made them work for it. I talk about the job he had to do on Howard and at the same time to be in a position to be able to help on their penetration. I thought he was effective in both. Using fouls -- they drive in hard and I don't think he's trying to foul, I think he's trying to make a good defensive play, but he doesn't care if it ends up being a foul. He knows it's in the best interest of the team to make that defensive play."
Portland's stops from the four-minute mark to the two-minute mark of the fourth helped turn a one-possession game into a walk-away win. The Blazers went on an 11-1 run during that stretch, with Harden's one free throw on the contested dunk attempt the only point that Houston could muster.
"[Lopez] reminds me of Joel Przbyilla back in the day, but younger and with a better outside shot," Batum said. "He takes so much pressure off LaMarcus. We've got a young five who can do all the dirty work inside. He does all the screens, all the rebounds, fight inside, guard the big guys, I love Robin Lopez, he's a blessing for us."
But it's Lopez who is the first to credit most of his success to Aldridge. His job is easy, Lopez says again and again, and it's true that he's playing a role rather than running the show. A common question posed to All-NBA candidates is whether they make their teammates better, and it's much easier to perceive a guard's ability to succeed with this criteria than it is for a forward. Hasn't Aldridge made Lopez significantly better? Hasn't Aldridge made Matthews, Batum and Lillard better, too? Can't some portion of their individual successes be traced to Aldridge's presence pretty directly? Doesn't that say a lot about Aldridge, relative to many of the other players competing for top-shelf consideration?
There won't be any sweating out the All-Star reserves selection show for Aldridge this year and there won't be any purchasing of plane tickets for a back-up vacation "just in case." The "end of the bench" at the All-Star Game should end in New Orleans too. Aldridge has noted that he tends to keep quiet when he goes to the All-Star Games; My crystal ball is telling me that he will have a little more to say, and a larger audience, this time around.
"I'm not even worried about that," Aldridge told Blazersedge, when asked whether he's come to terms with the idea that he's no longer a "fringe" All-Star and now enjoying a firmer standing. "That's not even my focus. Right now it's just coming out and winning games. If I do what I have to do on the court, everything else will work itself out."
Jay-Z once dissed and dismissed Nas by saying that he had "fallen from top 10 to not mentioned at all." Aldridge is making that particular journey backwards -- climbing out of relative obscurity instead of falling into it-- and there are mandatory repercussions awaiting those who sustain this level of excellence and upward trajectory. If Aldridge keeps doing what he has to do, like he's been doing it, the widespread respect that he's seemingly written off could still be in his future.
Terry Stotts' Post-Game Comments
Opening comments
The two halves were obviously a lot different. Neither team could really get it going offensively in the first half. The defense kind of held up for both teams. Everybody started finding their groove offensively. We had a lot of good performances. Obviously L.A. was fantastic. He was doing everything. The game was coming to him, big rebounds, big shots, kicked it out of the post when he needed to. He was terrific.
Robin -- even though Howard goes 32 and 17, the fact that he took the challenge to guard him straight up, it took threes out of the game. They really rely on the three a lot, we were able to minimize what they did there. Transition -- they're a good transition team. They had their opportunities in the first half but for the most part, for the game, we were able to minimize that as well. It was a good home win.
Second-half offense
I don't know if there was one thing in particular. Our passing was good. To be honest, I thought we had really good -- our offense was good in the first half. We just didn't finish at the rim, we had some open looks, we had a lot of really good opportunities in the first half we didn't finish. The second half, the same opportunities were there and we were able to take advantage of them.
Aldridge's rebounding
You would have to ask him. I don't know. You would ahve to ask him. You've seen him play for eight years now. I'm glad that he is. He's very determined. Playing alongside Robin, he helps occupy some people and [Aldridge] goes and gets them. I think it's a team thing. Rebounding is a lot of individual will and I thought some of those rebounds he was really persistent to go get.
Aldridge versatility to play defense against perimeter players in situations
That's a good point. That's probably an understated part of his game tonight -- he really took the challenge, when we switched on a lot of pick-and-rolls, he kept [James] Harden and those guys in front of him. He made them shoot over the top of them, we didn't get beat on penetration when he switched on to them. He really communicated well. Our pick-and-roll coverage isn't a straight switch, it's something that needs to be communicated. The guy guarding Harden -- the communication that enabled us to be effective with the switching as well.
Demeanor evolving as team passes tests
I think we're growing in confidence. I think we go into games with a certain level of confidence. At the same, we realize that we're playing hard, and our success is because we're playing hard. It's not coming easy. Our record is what it is, but it's not easy. We have to compete every night. I think the combination of confidence and just competing is there every there night.
Robin Lopez using fouls late to break up scoring opportunities
Robin plays the right way. Rather than give up an easy two and stay out of it, he made them work for it. I talk about the job he had to do on Howard and at the same time to be in a position to be able to help on their penetration. I thought he was effective in both. Using fouls -- they drive in hard and I don't think he's trying to foul, I think he's trying to make a good defensive play, but he doesn't care if it ends up being a foul. He knows it's in the best interest of the team to make that defensive play.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
Two of the Western Conference's better teams met tonight when Portland and Houston clashed. The Rockets brought the marquee center in Dwight Howard but LaMarcus Aldridge outshone him as Portland claimed the 111-104 victory.
The Portland Trail Blazers avenged their only significant home loss of the season tonight, besting the Houston Rockets 111-104 in a game where continuity and game plan proved just as important as matchups.
Neither team had a smooth start to the evening. LaMarcus Aldridge started out missing every shot he took. This bogged down Portland's offensive attack, almost as if they were flooring the gas without any wheels on the vehicle. Nicolas Batum stepped in with points and passes while Wesley Matthews and Mo Williams added their usual shots. But wing scoring alone can't buoy the Blazers and they only managed 21 points in the period.
The Rockets, meanwhile, looked like they were playing in mud. Some of this was Portland's defense. Batum made life tough on James Harden, Portland's nemesis in the earlier loss. The Rockets also chose to go 1-on-1, barely making a significant pass and never for a scoring opportunity. Going against Portland without moving the defenders is a bad idea no matter who you are. Houston did get a fair number of shots right at the rim, but many of them got bothered by 2 and 3 defenders because the Rockets never made the Blazers think about anything else. Dwight Howard made a couple shots but did an awful lot of standing and staring as well. His motivation in this game cycled like moon phases. As a result Houston managed only 20 in the first quarter.
The Rockets shifted gears a little in the second. They got more shots in the lane, sped up the tempo for some breaks, and took advantage of some poor defense from Portland's bench. They rebounded well, a good way to put the Blazers back on their heels. They also figured out that Portland was going to single-cover Howard in most situations and actually started going to him. He delivered 8 points and seemed to perk up from his first period Sominex-fest.
But Houston couldn't deliver on the defensive end. They over-committed to double teams and their weak-side defense was...weak. Secondary defenders never rotated. If they did move to cover the middle nobody picked up the arc on the far side of the court. Portland alternated outside shots with nifty little flick passes to Robin Lopez when his man gave help. Aldridge also got on track in the period, letting everybody heave a sigh of relief.
The Rockets ended up making up a bucket in the second, taking a 1-point lead into halftime.
The Blazers finally came alive fully in the third, scoring 14 points in the first 4:06 of the period. Aldridge keyed the run but Lopez also made hay when the Rockets tried to stop it. He did a great job catching the ball in space and finishing tonight. The Blazers also prospered on the offensive glass early in the quarter. Meanwhile Howard drifted backwards past sleepwalking into just plain quitting. With the Blazers locking up Harden, Houston managed nothing. The Blazers slapped a 10-point lead on them by the time the run was finished.
Unfortunately 8 minutes of the third remained and Houston rejuvenated their big man by giving him the ball in the offense once again. Still single-covered, Howard made hash of Lopez and Portland's defense, scoring in the lane again and again. A couple of threes in the quarter got Harden back on track too. Portland's lead evaporated and the game was tied at 76 entering the fourth.
At this point the Rockets made a curious decision, electing to rest Harden and Howard at the same time. The Blazers came out ready to throw haymakers and take control of the game. Without their two stars, the Rockets had about as much force behind their punches as Clarabelle Cow. The Blazers bettered their third quarter start, scoring 13 points in 3 minutes this time. The Rockets managed only 3 on a single set of free throws. Houston reinserted Howard and Harden posthaste but by the time either one got a decent scoring look their team was down 10 again. The brace of All-Stars helped the Rockets fight back to within 2. Chandler Parsons would provide the only other scoring for the remainder of the period. But Houston suffered from near-criminal spacing on offense and every shot that wasn't a Howard dunk came hard. Meanwhile the Blazers played their game: Aldridge keying the attack, Batum hitting the obligatory fourth-quarter outlet three, Matthews working hard for his points...in this case inside, even. If the Blazers weren't a well-oiled machine at least they looked like they had played together before and maybe enjoyed it. The Rockets left you wondering. Spirit and chemistry beat the All-Star attack and Portland walked off the court to streamers and their 19th victory of the season.
The most impressive stat of the night might be the Blazers keeping up with the Rockets blow for blow on the boards. Each team finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. Portland won the overall battle 52-48. The Blazers shot poorly from the arc, making only 8 of 27 threes (30%). But once again they made more free throws (25) than the opponent even attempted (24). On the one had this was a little odd considering Houston outscored Portland in the paint 66-36. On the other hand, when you hear TNT's Charles Barkley call the Blazers a "jump shooting team" you have to put a small asterisk by the claim, understanding that those free throws represent attacks by Portland into the lane more than they represent jump shots. The label is basically correct, but there's a wrinkle.
But as we said in the open, this game was as much about continuity and chemistry as matchups or statistics. The Blazers kept it together, executed their game plan, didn't get afraid when Houston made a run, and kept picking each other up...covering for each other on defense and getting reasonably good opportunities on offense. Houston had the Howard no-show moments. They watched Harden shoot under pressure. Some of that was him but some was clueless play from his teammates. They'd work to get him a mismatch on the wing against a point guard or big man then they'd run not one, but two men from the weak side right into his driving lane. Rockets were bumping Rockets all night long on offense. Howard and Parsons fought each other for a rebound early in the third, accidentally knocking it away from each other, then both just stood as the ball bounced to Aldridge and he put it home. The two just stared at each other with Howard gesturing angrily at his teammate while the opponent got an easy deuce off of their miscue. You got the feeling that even the Howard-inspired runs came because that's what came easiest to them. If you have any doubt that chemistry is a key component to Portland's success this year, watch this game again. When things get hard you'll see the difference between a team that just plays harder in response and a team that quits.
Individual Notes
As if you needed another reason to like LaMarcus Aldridge this season, he scored 31 on 12-22 shooting and grabbed 25 rebounds in this game. Aldridge was superb, particularly on the glass. And this was after a slow start in which he and Howard guarded each other to a near-standstill. Watching the two of them tonight, there's no doubt in my mind which of these two players I'd rather have captaining my team, and it ain't Howard.
Damian Lillard and Patrick Beverley resumed their battle from the last meeting, providing background fireworks while other players took the fore. Lillard didn't defend well tonight on anybody but Beverley. With that guy, though, he seems to have a chip on his shoulder. And Beverley returned it. Lillard scored 8 points but shot only 1-10 from the field. Beverly scored 9 on 3-10 shooting. Beverley had 11 rebounds but only 2 assists while Lillard dished 6 dimes. Suffice it to say it was not Lillard's best night. But it was kind of fun to watch. Keep an eye on this when the two teams meet again.
Nicolas Batum did a heck of a job when assigned to Harden and equally well on Parsons...key players for the Rockets. This was one of his best defensive displays of the season. He also managed 15, 6. and 6 in 38 minutes, keeping his Swiss Army Knife reputation alive.
Wesley Matthews provided key scoring, particularly in the fourth quarter. This was doubly impressive since his three-point shot was not falling tonight (2-8). He made up for it with well-timed drives, scoring 18.
This was the perfect Robin Lopez 2013-14-Season-in-a-Capsule night. Matched up against Dwight Howard in single coverage he got destroyed. Howard struggled a little early and Lopez did contest a few shots but mostly it was an all-night ATM machine. Howard scored 32 on 14-22 shooting with 17 rebounds. But Lopez kept working his way into Howard's game like an annoying sand crab pinching his butt. The sand crab is not going to scare you. You could crush it without thinking. But how long can you carry one down the back of your shorts before you start getting annoyed and distracted by it? Lopez annoyed Howard enough that Dwight never could strut during his impressive outing. Robin grabbed 10 rebounds himself and added 16 points on 7-9 shooting when the Rockets rushed to double.
Mo Williams wasn't much defensively tonight but he did hit 5-10 shots, scoring 13 with 4 assists.
Dorell Wright shot only 2-6 but both were threes, making it OK. In fact it was more than OK because the Blazers needed those threes to fall at some point during the evening.
Joel Freeland played 13 minutes and snagged 3 boards but otherwise didn't really look like he belonged in this game. Neither did Thomas Robinson aside from his 2 rebounds in 5 minutes. It was just too choppy of a night for either of those guys to find place or rhythm.
Timmay's Instant Recap and Gameday Thread review, in which Charles Barkley no doubt got barbecued.
Speaking of, what was up with that hot mess at the TNT coverage desk? They had five guys up there: Ernie, Shaq, Chuck, Kenny, and Chris Webber. Every one of them besides Ernie looked like they had OD'ed on Howard's sleeping pills or just didn't care. They had continuity issues, nobody got to speak enough, Shaq had no clue about time cues, and collectively they had all the appeal of a barf-covered biscuit. I had started to like TNT over the last season or so because they finally started joining the Western Conference half of their double-headers on time (or close enough). I may have to revise that estimation if this keeps up.
It'll be interesting to see what The Dream Shake makes of this outing.
See your Jersey Contest score and enter the form for Saturday night's game in Philly HERE.
--Dave (blazersub@gmail.com)
The Portland Trail Blazers, along with LaMarcus Aldridge, have arrived. In front of a national television audience, the Blazers defeated the presumed-contender Houston Rockets to maintain their lead as the top team in the Western Conference.
The Blazers were led by the amazing LaMarcus Aldridge's MVP-level night, scoring 31 points with 25 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He received support from Robin Lopez (16 points, 10 rebounds), Nicolas Batum (15 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists) and Wesley Matthews (18 points). Damian Lillard struggled but still contributed 8 points with 6 assists.
Here is a full list of every player to ever score at least 31 points with 25 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks, for perspective on Aldridge's historic night.
First Quarter: As both teams struggled to shoot the ball (the Blazers at 30% and 1-7 from three!), Portland used their rebounding to their advantage, using 5 offensive boards to keep Houston at bay. Flop as they may, the Rockets simply could not pull ahead of the Blazers, who hit just just enough shots to stay ahead.
Portland 21, Houston 20
Second Quarter: Neither team could truly get anything going, as the whistles blew non-stop, and the shots kept missing. As the Blazers kept misfiring, Dwight Howard and James Harden finally took advantage for a 5 point lead, forcing a Blazer timeout. Portland simply continued to miss easy shots and make dumb mistakes, allowing Houston to stay ahead. Aldridge warmed up late to keep things close, but Jeremy Lin used the patented Rockets "push the defender and fall over for a foul call" to keep the lead at halftime.
Houston 44, Portland 43
This reminds me of the Pacers against Miami the other night. Pacers looked nervous, out of sorts the first half.
by tyeforshee
Third Quarter: Portland picked it up in the second half. In a hilarious moment, both Howard and Chandler Parsons went for the defense rebound, canceling each other out. While Dwight gave Parsons the stink-eye, Aldridge proceeded to grab the ball off the bounce and lay it in. The Blazers pushed the lead to 10 on a Lopez three-point play, but the Rockets quickly cut the lead back down. From there, the Blazers kept a small lead as the teams fought back and forth, neither gaining an advantage. As the bench arrived, Houston cut the lead to four. The Rockets kept Howard and Harden in down the stretch, and they closed the gap quickly, helped by Blazer turnovers and fouls.
Fourth Quarter: Aldridge and Dorell Wright's three-point plays quickly gave the Blazers a 6 point lead, followed by Mo Williams' floater to make it 8. Houston quickly needed timeout to bring the starters back. The Blazers responded with a stop and a Lopez layup for a 10 point lead. A rough three-point foul helped Houston close the gap, but Wright got the points right back. Thanks to some help by Howard and a turnover, Houston cut the lead to 5 and Blazers Coach Terry Stotts called a timeout at the halfway point. Howard and Harden personally kept Houston close, with the Blazer lead cut to 2 with 4:45 left. With 4 minutes left and a chance to tie, Houston turned it over and a Matthews jumper made them pay, helping the Blazers regain a 4 point lead. After a Rockets miss, Aldridge set up Batum for three... swish, and a 7 point Blazer lead! But at the other end, Lopez was called for his fifth foul. Harden cut the lead to 6 with 2:45 left. In turn, Aldridge was fouled and tossed the ball to the rim... and Howard goaltended it! Aldridge's free throw gave the Blazers a 9 point lead with 2:15 left. After Houston missed, Matthews hit a layup, and was fouled! He made the lead 12 with less than 2 minutes left, and Houston was out of comebacks. The Blazers scored a huge win in front of a national television audience.
What's Next:
The Blazers will head to the airport for a four-game East Coast road trip, starting Saturday night in Philadelphia. But first, stay tuned for more game coverage later tonight from Ben and Dave.
Comments of the Night!
Thanks for participating in our Gameday Threads, which were insane for tonight's nationally-televised game! Here were the most popular comments:
Hang out and enjoy the game! -- Tim
Hang out and enjoy the game! -- Tim
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The usual Gameday Thread rules apply:
1. No swearing
2. No pictures
3. No discussion of unlicensed Internet streaming
4. Be cool to each other!
Hang out and enjoy the game! -- Tim