Posted 02/24/2010 12:10 PM

Post-Game Thoughts
We can all exhale. I am sure glad I was proven wrong last night, because if we had lost, it could have been the end of our season. Portland did everything right through the half, holding a 19 point lead and only allowing 37 points through 2 quarters, then all of a sudden the defense collapsed. Although the Blazers did a fantastic job of keeping New Jersey out of the paint, 26 points, slowing down their fast-break, 6 points, and held the Nets to a minimal 5 offensive rebounds, they left jump shooters open which made the game way too close for comfort. The Nets stormed back in the 3rd with 33 points to trim the lead down to 7 heading into the final period, mainly behind the hot shooting of Courtney Lee, who had 28 points on 11-18 shooting, including a perfect 4-4 from downtown. Not known as a 3 point shooting team, 2nd worst in the league at 30%, going 6-11 from beyond the arc was what kept the Nets right in contention until the very end. Luckily for the Trail blazers, you live by the 3, you die by the 3.

"We dealt with it," Roy said. "We did a great job tonight of holding a team off that was playing pretty loose."

The Trail Blazer offense looked pretty impressive throughout most of the game, spots here and there where we still got a bit too conservative and ran down the shot clock not included, which saw Roy and Aldridge finally come together as the dynamic duo we all knew they were. It always seems like either Roy is on or only Aldridge is on, never both excelling at the same time. Last night was a completely different story. The team made a conscious effort to force feed the ball into LaMarcus in the post, and he responded by going for 27 points, on 13-20 shooting, grabbing 7 boards, and handing out 4 assists. The sign of a great big man is always if he can dish out a few assists. If he is killing it down low it makes the defense think twice about sending the double team, because not only is he willing to make the extra pass but he is capable of seeing when and where to pass it to. He wasn't fully back in the Utah game, but B-Roy is baaaaaack now. Brandon had a team-high 28 points (9-14), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, but maybe more importantly were his 13 trips to the line, netting 10 of them. A sign of a superstar is their ability to get to the line 8+ times a night, and all of his foul shot attempts seemed to always keep the Nets at bay and thwart their momentum just enough to come away victorious.

Not to be overlooked is the excellent performance of Andre Miller. With his 20 points (7-10), he became the third Blazer to score 20 or more, giving the team a legit Big 3 for the night, something they have been craving since the arrival of Oden. Well, Greg is out for the year and the team is going to need a third musketeer to help out Brandon and LaMarcus. The play of the game had to be Dre's desperation three as the shot clock expired to always keep the lead above 5 points. Dre also found time to chip in 7 dimes and 5 rebounds, which he did while not committing a single turnover. For a guard who has been turnover prone since the start of the New Year, 2.52/gm, it was great to not only seen Andre take care of the ball, but the entire team as well. Portland set a team-low for the season with only four giveaways, a recipe for victory any day of the week.

What would a Blazers game be without any injuries? In the 1st quarter, a Nets player came down on Camby's ankle, causing him to miss the rest of the game and out for tonight's game in Toronto as well. Then, if that wasn't bad enough, after nailing a huge 3-pointer in the corner, either a fan or another New Jersey player was responsible for rolling Jerryd Bayless' ankle, who did not return to action. His status for tonight is still up in the air. At this point you can do nothing but shake your head and chuckle. I have already became numb to these injuries, because, really, nothing will surprise me this year.
Official Game Photos

Box Score