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Portland Trailblazers
With the shot-clock under ten seconds late in the fourth quarter, Portland Trail Blazers point guard Andre Miller dribbled the ball at the top of the key, then to his right, taking a couple of Miami Heat defenders with him. The clock struck three when he turned to his left, saw guard Brandon Roy beyond the three-point line on the right wing, and lasered a pass to the team’s leader. Roy, upon catching Miller’s pass, launched a 32-footer. A shot that long had to be short, but for Roy it swished through. Miami immediately called a timeout, and Roy stormed to the bench and leaped jubilantly into Juwan Howard, the aged power forward that had jumped off the pine to greet him. The Blazers had gained control, and were seemingly well on their way to victory.
After struggling against the Orlando Magic, Portland clearly had a different mindset entering this contest. Against the Magic, LaMarcus Aldridge struggled, as did shooting guard Martell Webster. This game would be different stories for both, illustrated by their success early in the first quarter. Aldridge made only one field goal against the Magic and it came in the opening minute. He hit a shot against the Heat in the first minute of action, but this time it wouldn’t be his last. Webster followed his turnaround jumper over Michael Beasley with a dunk in transition, and Aldridge proceeded to make a shot from the top and then a second turnaround over Beasley.
Webster kept the two-man game going, draining a three-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer from Roy for an 11-6 lead. The duo of Webster and Aldridge had combined to make the Blazers first five field goals. On the Webster three, Roy tallied his second assist, more than he or any other Blazer had against the Magic. But he wouldn’t just be the distributor; he couldn’t afford to. So, he asserted himself offensively, draining a jumper of an inbounds play. With that, his brilliantly efficient night had begun.
Two possessions later, he launched from 18-feet away, caught back iron, and benefited from a shooters’ bounce: the ball dropped through the net after arching above the backboard, notching Portland’s 14th and 15th points. The Blazers scored just six points over the remaining six minutes of the first frame, and none of them were by Roy. Yet, though they trailed by four heading into the second, those six points were valuable because they came via players other than Roy. The guard received little help against Orlando, but Aldridge and Webster had already made a few baskets, and now Miller and Blake had three-points apiece: Miller hesitated, pump-faked, and wriggled past Jermaine O’Neal for a layup, then made the ensuing free-throw, and Blake canned a three-pointer from a twisting and turning Jerryd Bayless.
The support continued in the second, as Howard made a hook to open the frame. Webster followed with a three-pointer from Steve Blake, and a little later, center Joel Przybilla tipped in a miss by Bayless. Then after the first turnover by Miami, Roy passed to Przybilla, who let the defense converge before finding Bayless for a three-pointer, a shot that has found its way into the second-year guard’s excellent repertoire.
Though the supporting cast had done their job, the Heat held a nine-point advantage with under two minutes remaining in the half on a jumper by star Dwayne Wade. Roy, whose last points had come before Pryzbilla’s tip-in, hadn’t scored in more than six minutes. It was time for him to reappear and get his team back in the thick of it. He did, hitting a three-pointer with 1:37 left, and then another on the next possession. The consecutive three-pointers were Portland’s fifth and sixth of the game, a first half total dwarfing their three against the Magic. The six straight by Roy also fueled a very effective 8-4 run, a spurt finished off by a easier jumper by him that cut the margin to three entering halftime.
He took six shots and made all of them. He was perfect, and, more importantly, his team was in contention with him only taking six shots. Having help made life so much easier for him, and continued to in the third.
He hit a three-pointer four minutes into the third frame, his only points of the quarter. The combination of Miller, Aldridge, Webster, and Przybilla, the foursome that provided a lift in the first half, scored the other 23 points. As he did in the first quarter, Aldridge took advantage of his matchup against Beasley, a true small forward incapable of guarding the inspired power forward. He backed down Beasley for a hook to nab a 62-59 lead midway through the third quarter, lengthened the margin to seven with a jumper, and then to nine with another mid-range 16-footer.
Miami trimmed the deficit to two entering the fourth thanks to a closing 10-2 spurt fueled by a terrible flagrant foul call on Miller. It was believed this call that sent Wade to the floor and the run that ensued would work similarly to J.J. Redick’s three-pointer at the end of the third period that gave the Magic all the momentum. But it would not be dejá vù.
The Heat held a six-point lead, 87-81, with just under five minutes remaining, but the lead would soon be gone as Roy put on his Mr. Fourth Quarter cape. Miller drove in for a layup to jump-start the deciding rally, and Roy followed by doing what he does best. He drove baseline, stopped as the defense converged, sliced in between Beasley and Udonis Haslem, took contact from both, and still managed to bank a fade-away off the glass. After completing the three-point play, he settled for the traditional version, swishing a three from the top of the key, tying the game at 89.
Quentin Richardson, the Heat’s streaky guard who hit four three-pointers in the first half, gave his team the lead with his sixth, but their lead once again wouldn’t last long. Roy passed the ball, which would usually spell doom late in games, but tonight his unselfishness helped the Blazers, as Webster canned a three-pointer from the left baseline, answering Richardson’s long ball.
Roy followed with a jumper, then Wade fouled Miller, and the guard made two free-throws. This sequence set up the dagger: Roy’s long bomb as the shot-clock wound down. A fifth three-pointer that capped a 10-0 run and put the Blazers in the winners circle.
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Game Notes:
Roy’s 32-footer gave him 28 points. He was effortlessly efficient, making all five three-pointers taken and 11 of 14 field goal attempts overall. He also was in a passing mood, dishing eight assists to compliment his offensive production.
Aldridge added a hard-fought 23 points on 10-23 shooting. He made five of his final eight shots and had eight rebounds, eclipsing his total against Orlando by seven.
Miller contributed 17 huge points, doing so on 6-10 shooting. He also dished four assists.
Webster scored 16 points on 4-7 shooting. He made 3-6 from three-point range and grabbed five rebounds.
Przybilla narrowly missed a double-double, scoring 8 points to go along with 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. Just another day at the office for him.
As a team, Portland made 51 percent of their field goals, drained 11 of 17 three-pointers attempted, out-rebounded Miami by ten, and committed only ten turnovers.
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