Behind by two points, Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy improvised against a stingy defense, dribbling to his left, then behind his back before spinning to his right. With his back to the basket, having created the slightest amount of space between him and the Milwaukee Bucks’ defensive stalwart, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, he turned around, leaped off one foot, and faded away over his outstretched arm. The extremely difficult mid-range jumper swished through, tying the game with 12 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.

The Blazers put together a tremendous first half to nab a 5-point lead over the Bucks at intermission. Their field-goal percentage wasn’t appealing, but they manufactured points, fighting for every basket. They had balanced scoring, as six players had five or more points, and their trio of point guards held Milwaukee’s explosive rookie guard Brandon Jennings without a single point in the opening two frames, the same player who dropped 55 on the Golden State Warriors earlier this season.

He couldn’t be shut down for the game’s entirety, though. He looked disinterested in the first half; a scoring guard not looking to score. But then the on-switch turned on, and he went to work. He hit his first field-goal attempt, a three-pointer, to tie the game at 46 early in the third and then paced a 15-2 run after Blazers guard Martell Webster drained a three-pointer of his own. He had a hand in all fifteen points, scoring eight while dishing three assists for the remaining seven.

The Bucks lead grew to thirteen, but was cut to ten entering the fourth quarter thanks to a small, but effective 5-2 run by the Blazers to end the period. Jerryd Bayless hit two baskets, a 20-footer from the wing and a short jumper in the lane, and Joel Przybilla split a pair of free-throws. During these three minutes, Portland committed four sloppy turnovers but benefited from Milwaukee’s 1-7 shooting to conclude the frame in gathering a little momentum heading into regulation’s final period.

Another point guard, Andre Miller, built off Bayless’s baskets to help whittle the deficit even further. He hit a tough mid-range jumper and then knifed through defenders, faked a pass inside, and flipped in a hard-earned layup. Nothing came easy for Portland, but they kept plugging away, finding avenues for points. They remained behind for the next nine minutes of the quarter but had found their swagger. Shots were falling with regularity, including a three-pointer by Roy from Miller that cut the margin to four and a 16-footer by LaMarcus Aldridge from Miller that cut it to one, 83-82, with just over a minute remaining.

On a set play drawn during a timeout, Bucks center Andrew Bogut made a hook, increasing the lead to three, but the Blazers answered right back. In transition with the game-clock under forty seconds, Roy lobbed a pass near the rim for Aldridge, and the lanky power forward slammed it home, taking the contact from Mbah a Moute in the process. This and the ensuing free-throw tied the contest at eighty-five, and after Jennings countered with a smooth eight-footer, Roy’s spectacular shot over Mbah a Moute notched a tie at eighty-seven.

Portland fed off Roy’s basket in the overtime session. Aldridge dunked, made a layup, and dunked again as part of a 8-2 flurry that spanned the first two and a half minutes of overtime. But, while the Blazers owned the first half of the period, the Bucks dominated the final two and a half minutes. During this span, Portland didn’t score.

After point guard Luke Ridnour and forward Carlos Delfino hit jumpers upon entering the game, Milwaukee crashed the boards down by two. Delfino missed a three-pointer with 25 seconds left and, knowing it was wayward, swooped in for the offensive rebound. He botched the ensuing layup, but the Bucks managed to retain possession. Jennings took advantage of the Blazers lack of rebounding, winding the clock under five seconds before taking advantage of a mismatch against Przybilla. He faked a drive and pulled up over the center, draining a game-tying jumper, forcing a second overtime.

Portland had ran out of gas. They couldn’t buy a basket for a better half of the first overtime, and though they hung tough in the second extra session, the Bucks proved too difficult to overcome. Ridnour broke a 97-97 tie with a jumper and Delfino capitalized off a missed layup by Aldridge, hitting a three-pointer from Jennings. Roy countered with a lay-in, but had his pocket picked on the next possession, as Ridnour scurried in for a layup. Roy drove to the basket, as he often does late in games, drew a foul, and made two free-throws, but Portland’s defense couldn’t get the defensive stop they needed, as Jennings sealed the victory with slashing layup.

Portland put forth everything they had, but everything wasn’t enough. Roy gave them hope with that dazzling jumper at the end of regulation, but tired legs, turnovers, the lack of consistent options on offense, a deteriorating inside defense, and the tandem of Jennings and Ridnour all played a role in another Blazers loss.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

Game Notes:

Aldridge had a huge game, scoring 31 points on 13-22 shooting, while grabbing 11 rebounds in 52 minutes played.

Roy once again struggled with his shot, making just 8 of 24 field goal attempts for his 23 points. He added 8 rebounds and 6 assists in the losing effort. Without much of an inside game, defenses are clamping down on him, as he is shooting a measly 17-49 from the field over his past two games.

Only one other Blazer scored in double figures, Webster with 16 points. Factoring Aldridge, Roy, and Webster out of the equation, the rest of the team scored 31 points on 10-32 shooting.

Ridnour scored 20 points off the bench, Bogut added 27 points and 11 rebounds, and Jennings chipped in 18 points for the Bucks, which shot 49 percent from the field in victory.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 13th, 2009 at 1:42 pm and is filed under Breaking News, Milwaukee Bucks, Most Recommended, NBA, News Headlines, Portland Trail Blazers, Right Column, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.