Win Streak Hits Five
posted: 12/20/2006 at 10:21 PM
This game served as a true barometer for the Trail Blazers. That's taking nothing away from the previous four wins, but the Houston Rockets have been one of the best teams in the Western Conference so far this season. They rolled into Portland with a 15-8 record, thanks to Yao Ming's recent dominance. This was to easily be the toughest test, and truest measure of this Trail Blazer team in the past two weeks.
The Blazers passed the test, and made it five straight wins.
The Rockets held a 22-21 lead very early in the second quarter, and would never lead again. Even though the Trail Blazers left the door ajar for the Rockets late in the game, they closed them out late, and picked up the 89-87 victory in front of over 17,000 at the Rose Garden.
So much for the thought that working Brandon Roy back into the rotation might actually be a tough adjustment for the team, which has been playing so well as of late. Roy entered the game with a little over three minutes left in the first quarter, and received a huge ovation from the crowd. His first attempt at the rim, after missing 20 games, was a spinning, hanging shot over Dikembe Mutombo. It went in, and he was fouled. So much for the rust.
Roy's last shot of the game was a left-handed spinner off the glass with Shane Battier draped all over him, that restored a four-point lead with just :19 seconds left. The Rockets would hit a three-pointer, to close to within 88-87, but Zach Randolph then hit a free throw with .08 left, and intentionally missed the second. With no timeouts left, the Rockets were left with an 80-foot heave to try and tie.
Even though Yao got his big numbers, 34 points and 9 rebounds, the Rockets were held to just 87 points by a scrappy Blazer defense. Houston had averaged 105 points per game in their last five games. Rafer Alston added 20 points, and Luther Head had 17, but that was it. Bonzi Wells, who was booed just about every time he touched the ball, ended just 2 for 10 in his 24 minutes.
Zach Randolph had 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, his 15th double-double of the season. Jarrett Jack had 13, all in the second half, and Travis Outlaw had 12 points off the bench, including 4 huge blocked shots. His block late in the second quarter made highlight reels around the country. Yao tried a jump hook on the right block and Outlaw came from the weak side of the floor and rejected the ball out of bounds. It brought the crowd to its feet, and Travis received a standing ovation as he checked out of the game moments later.
Next up for the Blazers are the Toronto Raptors, who come into the Rose Garden on Friday night. The Raptors have been playing much better, since falling to the Blazers in Toronto on the 10th of this month. They defeated the Clippers, in L.A., Wednesday night.
The Blazers improved their record to 12 and 14, and now with Roy back and obviously back up to speed, look to make it 6 in a row Friday.
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It's been a bummer that I haven't been able to see any of these wins but looking at the box scores they don't look that impressive to me which leads me to believe that the Blazers must be playing some pretty good defense. I'd like to see Travis, Lamarcus and Sergio get more minutes as I see them as our future. I'm disappointed in Joel's play so far. I know he's not a scorer but if that's true, then he needs to start getting a few more boards.
Wow, Bonzi sure has bounced around since the Blazers got rid of him.
It's nice to see the Blazers getting closer to .500.
For the first time this season i got a glimpse of what i envisioned could be possible, this season, after looking over the roster before camp. We had solid to great contributions coming from everyone who got significant PT. With a healthy roster, our depth became apparent.
Since i was one of Magloire's harshest critics, i feel the need to give him props on his play of late. He is finally giving us the other option Nate was hoping to get. I don't know what was going on with him earlier this season, but he's definitely starting to show of what he's capable.
The defensive intensity, tonight, was the best i've seen it for the first 3 quarters. I was impressed with the game plan and how focused the team was in executing it. Enough cannot be said about how well Nate has done this year, so far. He got his players to believe if they bought into his system and followed his plan they could win. And, now that they have and do, they are.
I think Mo Cheeks is a great guy, but the massive upgrade we made at head coach probably stands as John Nash's one and only pearl of a move. That is, if he was actually the one that made it. It was done under his watch, anyway. We can say that much.
PS Brandon was a little rusty, tonight, despite what everyone is saying.
Mike,
You are the best play by play in the buiss ( except for Marv Albert, Mike Breen and Mike tirico). I am a 17 year old Blazers fanatic!!! I just wanted to tell you that you made a mistake in your 12/20 blog. If the Rockets made the unbelievable 80 foot heave they would have won not tied the game.
Thanx
Alex Rapoport
P.S. congradulations on the newborn
What a game! The Garden was packed and loud tonight. This is the type of streak Blazer fans have been waiting for. Roy's return was electric and the Garden was the loudest its been all year. I love this game!!!
Congratullations for these five wins. It seems they are playing as a team and good results are comming.
Congratullations also for Roy's return. This means Sergio sits, what a pity! Hopefully coach will give him some more than 5 seconds so he is able at least to have the ball. Next game with Toronto he will be again with Garbajosa and Calderon. At least he will have some fun. I just bought the comic Big in Japan and its really funny and with a lot of tenderness. We miss them a lot.
Merry Christmas to all the team and also to all the Blazers family and lets hope that they continue to win.
Congrats on the team for beating a decent Rockets team. I questioned Roy's return because I thought it might mess up the good chemistry the team had right before Roy returned, but I think that no more.
Mr. Blazer,
You made a comment a few blogs ago about how L.A. bashed Portland andyou made some good points. They're franchise did absolutely nothing in the 90s and didn't start getting better until well after the year 2000. I'd like to see them make the playoffs 19 years in a row (or however many it was that Portland made). They have one good year and they think they can bash a team that's in a rebuilding process, pretty low if you ask me. It's taken Portland only a few years to rebuild and it took the Clippers... what.. 15 years? lol. Portland's well on the way back to power. I bet those broadcasters weren't bashing Portland after their team got toasted... As of recent weeks, they look like the Clippers of old.
mike i wasn't very thrilled with roy's new nickname (the natural) so i thought that i would suggest mabey Roy The Golden Boy just an idea, think about it. and pass it on to rice.
Hey I think the Natural is a simple and very fitting name for Roy. Lets stick with that and see if we can spread the word around. Can anyone smell the 8th seed???
My only complaint about Nate's coaching job last night: He put in Brandon Roy too soon. Not because the situation didn't call for it. But Brandon came to the scorer's table long before I was finished booing Bonzi Wells.
This is great. Being a high school blazer fan this is the only place where i can read about the positives about the blazers. Roy really proved that he wasnt going to be as rusty as we thought he was going to be. Man wouldnt that be amazing if the blazer made playoffs after last years performance.
Don't let the players think about the playoff this early of the season. You'll never know what is going to happen; just keep playing hard and get the W!
Brandon "Diamond" Roy is back. What? You haven't heard this moniker before? Diamonds shine, are tougher than its peers, are at many times brilliant, and are highly sought after, commanding great market value. Even though this was Roy's first game back after 20 games, its won't be long before the Association takes notice of this "Diamond" in the rough.
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