Usually, I pick a meaningful play to begin my articles. But there were too many amazing plays by the Portland Trail Blazers to choose from on this very merry Christmas against their hated rival, the Denver Nuggets.

Brandon Roy, nursing a strained shoulder, was questionable entering the contest. He was literally a game-time decision: even as late as shoot-around, it wasn’t known if he would play. But the Blazers gave him the okay, inserting him into the starting lineup. And boy oh boy did he deliver.

His night began with a three-pointer off a screen by Juwan Howard and a jumper over a helpless Aaron Afflalo. Both swished through, as did his next field-goal, a 14-footer that came at the halfway mark of the first quarter. Then, with the jump-shot clicking, he decided to drive, matriculating into the lane to fill out his superb repertoire.

With the team struggling without him to begin the second quarter, he entered earlier than usual and went to work. Nuggets lanky forward Chris Andersen was have a block party until Roy challenged him the right way, driving into his chest for a hard-earned layup after one of several hustle plays by rookie Jeff Pendergraph. After crisp ball movement around the perimeter set up a three-pointer by point guard Steve Blake, one of the few first half baskets by someone other than Roy, he cut to the hoop, took a back-door pass from guard Jerryd Bayless, and layed in his 12th and 13th points.

Many more points followed for The Natural. He continued to hover around the rim, tipping in his own miss to pull Portland within four, 39-35, midway through the second, and then driving for another layup a few minutes later to help quell a rally by Denver. He mixed in aggressive takes with a smooth jump brilliantly, leaving the Nuggets guessing what he was going to do next.

He hit a mid-range jumper at the shot-clock buzzer over J.R. Smith to cut what was a nine-point lead to five, drove into the lane twice for four free-throws, and then capped off his brilliant half with a jump-shot from the top of the key as the shot-clock hit one. That brought the Blazers within two at intermission, and the Rose Garden crowd serenaded Roy, who, in 20 minutes, had compiled 25 of Portland’s 49 points.

Bad shoulder and all, the performance was breathtaking, but for Portland to continue their winning ways against brutal opponents, he would need help. He would get that aid throughout the third quarter, and the raucous crowd that applauded him would soon be clapping profusely for his supporting cast as well.

If there is a quarter Martell Webster tends to shine in, it is the third. A few years back, he scored 24 points in the period, and was in a similar zone on this night. The ever-streaky guard who had three points in the first half matched that total three-minutes into the third, draining a three from Andre Miller. He followed with a reverse layup on a handoff from LaMarcus Aldridge, then became the second Blazer in double figures, hitting another three from Miller, giving Portland the lead.

Eight points in a minute and a half, but he didn’t just show up on the offensive end. With the Blazers two best shot-blockers out for the year, he stepped in, blocking guard Anthony Carter’s layup attempt with authority, spiking it to the hardwood and out of bounds. With this, his impact statistically was complete, and he gave way to  Miller, who scored three points just before Webster’s don’t-bring-that-weak-stuff-in-here block.

Miller assisted on two field goals, finding Roy and Aldridge with a pair of magnificent backdoor passes to give the Blazers a slim three-point lead, then helped Portland climb back from a deficit three times. He hit two free-throws upon driving for a one-point advantage, tied the game with a flat mid-range jumper that snuck over the rim, and notched the see-saw affair at 74 with a shot in the key.

Webster had his moment in the third, as did Miller. The duo, which scored 17 of their 25 third-quarter points, had done their part, and handed over the keys to Roy and Blake to begin the fourth.

Aldridge, who had a tendency to play the role of quarterback, once again handed off a pass, this time to Blake, who would proceed to rattle in a jumper from the baseline to begin the fourth-quarter scoring. Fueled by this shot, Blake became the fourth Blazer to have a hot hand. After a pass to Bayless led to a split of a double-team and a rim-shaking thunderous jam by the second-year guard, Bayless acrobatically lofted a pass over a confused Nuggets defense and found the wily veteran who, upon receiving the pass, launched and swished a three-pointer from the corner.

Blake, after this shot gave Portland a 83-80 lead with nine minutes remaining, took five minutes off and watched his teammates work their magic. Roy somehow split a double-team on the left-wing, sped to the hoop, fended off Andersen once more, and converted a layup, and then countered five-straight points by Denver, drilling a three-pointer for a three-point advantage. Howard followed by feeding Aldridge with a no-look wrap-around pass for a slam, then Roy nailed another three-pointer. Now holding a ten-point lead, Blake proceeded to re-enter the picture.

He hit a pair of threes that rocked the Rose Garden, a crowd that had been on their feet since the eight-minute mark. The second was made possible by Denver’s attempt to hold Bayless down. The guard was double-team throughout the final quarter, and time after time found the open guy. In this instance, a pass over two defenders found Blake, and all could be heard was swish, and yelps of jubilation from announcers Mike Rice and Mike Barrett as well as from the oh-so proud crowd.

This dagger iced the win, and sent another tremendously talented Western Conference foe into the tunnel drowned in disappointment. Roy, bum shoulder and all, orchestrated the latest superb victory by the shorthanded Blazers, as illustrated by his 41 points. It was his night, but, as it has been for some time, it was also the team’s. Roy continues to amaze me, but more importantly, the Blazers, with seven players on the shelf, continue to amaze me.

Alluding to the film Avatar, which I saw this wonderful Christmas day, I don’t want to leave this magical world, a world full of magical victories. Given their resiliency, their chemistry, and the fact that they have The Natural, I won’t have to anytime soon.

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Game Notes:

Roy finished with 41 points, adding to his legend. He made 16-26 field goals and had 6 rebounds and 4 assists. He was magnificent. What else can be said about the Blazers leader?

He was the only Blazer in double-figures at halftime, which was definitely worrisome, but Portland would end up with five in double-digits.

Aldridge had a quiet 10 points, but cleaned the glass, grabbing 13 rebounds. Webster added 11 points, highlighted by his third-quarter flurry. Miller was excellent as well, adding 14 points to compliment his 8 assists, but no supporting cast member could outshine Blake.

Blake hit five three-pointers, four coming in the fourth quarter, and scored 14 of his 17 points in the Blazers 33-point final period.

Roy’s supporting cast was only 8-25 from the field in the first half. In the final two periods, they were a combined 16-26.

Portland had excellent ball-movement throughout, dishing 26 assists. They shot 52 percent and made 11-21 from three-point land.

Carmelo Anthony paced the Nuggets with 32 points and Smith added 20 to the cause off the bench, but Roy and friends proved too much to overcome.

Condensed version of win over Nuggets:

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