The Portland Trail Blazers were looking to correct a weeks-long tailspin and secure their confidence and playoff position. The Phoenix Suns were looking to stay in the playoff hunt, having beaten the Blazers in Phoenix in every game since 2010.
Both team wanted it, but in the end an untimely cold spell and a lava-hot LaMarcus Aldridge doomed the Suns as the Blazers got the 87-81 win. The Blazers have now won two straight, and are in 4th place in the West (due to leading their division), are 2.5 games out of third, and are a game behind the Clippers for homecourt advantage in the first round.
Recap
The first quarter saw the Blazers stumble early, falling behind 0-5 before righting the ship and riding four consecutive Aldridge buckets and his 12 first-quarter points to a 29-21 lead after one.
The Blazers’ lead stretched to double digits before the Suns wiped the fog from their eyes and tightened it back up, outscoring the Blazers by eight in the second quarter to roll into halftime tied at 47 apiece.
The third was even worse for the good guys: the Blazers managed just 31 points combined in the 2nd and 3rd quarters to the Suns’ 45, and the once-hot Aldridge was now having trouble hitting water from a rowboat. The third quarter ended with Phoenix ahead 66-60. Portland knew they had to do something.
It turns out that “something” was to wait for the Suns to miss a few, then crank down on defense to fluster them even further. Though the Blazers’ final-quarter offense wasn’t stellar, it was enough to pull them ahead by one with 3:40 left in the game.
Then Aldridge decided to rejoin the party. Double-teamed on a long jumper with the 7’1” Alex Len in his face? Swish. How about the exact same thing again? Swish. How about from a little further out? Swish. Further? Swish. Even further? Swish.
The distances on those five shots read 11, 14, 14, 17, and 19 feet, but they all felt like he was throwing a pebble into the grand canyon. It was total domination that only lasted two minutes, but it stunned the Suns and gave the Blazers an 85-76 lead that wasn’t going anywhere. The Blazers prevailed 87-81.
Implications
The Blazers’ “magic number” to clinch the division is now five. That means any combination of Blazers wins or Thunder losses will clinch the division, and guarantee them no worse than the 4th seed.
However; getting the 4th seed by winning the division means that the Blazers could play a 5th seed with a better overall record, and that team would have homecourt advantage over the Blazers.
Players
LaMarcus Aldridge had a mediocre game through three, then turned it on late to secure the win… and if this sounds a whole lot like their last game against the Jazz, that’s because it was basically the same thing. He’s been amazing down the stretch lately, and not even heavy double-teams with 7-footers can stop him when he’s on.
The Blazers’ 2nd-leading scorer was Robin Lopez, who looked very much in his elements after few stinkers: 12 points, 10 boards, a steal, and a block. That’s about what you want from RoLo.
Damian Lillard went for 11-4-4 in his most underwhelming performances of late.
Nicolas Batum and Chris Kaman were both serviceable in their returned after a brief injury stint, Kaman with 11 boards and Batum with 5-9-5. More than ever, what little depth the Blazers have needs to be preserved if they want any hope of escaping the first round.
Dorell Wright had eight points, and is averaging just over 10 in the last handful of game.
Notes
How did the fourth quarter go?
Portland's last 7 successful offensive possessions: Aldridge, Lillard, Lillard, Aldridge, Aldridge, Aldridge, Aldridge.
— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) March 28, 2015
The Blazers return home tomorrow to take on the Denver Nuggets for the first time since the Arron Afflalo trade.