Thursday throwdown

An injury-marred regular season didn’t keep the Portland Trail Blazers from winning 50 games, and it isn’t keeping them from making noise in the postseason either.

After five games of first-round play, the Phoenix Suns lead the Blazers by one game, 3-2. Portland wins when they control the tempo, though they’ve lost by large margins when Phoenix pulls ahead early.

Andre Miller netted 31 points and eight dishes during Game 1 in leading scorer Brandon Roy’s absence, and Marcus Camby pulled down 17 boards while providing strong post presence. Nicolas Batum and Jerryd Bayless both contributed 18 points, and they had no turnovers between them.

Portland’s five-point victory came after a hard-fought fourth quarter, and their defense held Phoenix, who led the league with 110.2 points per game during the regular season, to an even 100. However, Portland’s D withered over the next two games, as Phoenix scored 119 and 108 to win Games 2 and 3, respectively. 

Martell Webster was Portland’s top scorer for Game 2 with 16 points off the bench, and they shot just 38.2 percent from the field while committing 10 turnovers and getting out-rebounded 43-34. The plus-minus scoring—or the team’s net scoring while a given player is on the floor—was negative for every Blazer. 

They left Phoenix in shame, hoping to reclaim their series lead at home during Game 3. Alas, they were again blown out as the Suns ended the first half ahead 66-37. Portland didn’t catch up in the second half, and not even a trio of three-pointers from Rudy Fernández could close the gap.

Portland tightly guarded Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire—both starters for the 2010 Western Conference All-Star squad—only to leave Jason Richardson with a clear path to a series-high of 42 points on 13 of 19 shooting, including 8 of 12 from behind the arc. Batum again injured a shoulder that has hampered him all season, and he sat out the second half.

Things looked bleak for Portland’s postseason hopes in the wake of two blowouts.

Then, at the start of Game 4, Roy was announced as active and he took the court to the theme of “Rocky” and roof-raising cheers from the Portland crowd. His return gave the Blazers a huge confidence boost, and LaMarcus Aldridge knocked down a playoff career high of 31 points while grabbing 11 boards. Roy was relatively quiet until the fourth, when he hit a trey that put Portland up by six and secured the W to even the series.

The 96-87 victory reinstated much of the faith lost after two savage beatings, but the Blazers couldn’t carry the momentum into Game 5. Despite leading by 14 in the first quarter, they committed 28 fouls and 15 turnovers while getting out-rebounded 41-29, resulting in a 19-point loss.

The series resumes tonight with a crucial match at the Rose Garden, as tonight’s result will either lead to one more game in Phoenix or the end of Portland’s postseason campaign. If there is a Game 7, it will take place at U.S. Airways Center on Saturday.

The regular season and playoffs have shown Portland’s resilience. If they reach the second round, they face either the Dallas Mavericks or San Antonio Spurs—both teams that the Blazers won their regular-season series against.

Point margins

When Portland wins:
201–187
+14 points
Scored at least 96 points

When Portland loses:
267–334
-67 points
Scored no more than 90 points