Phew. Portland squeaked out a close one. As usual, Portland came out flat in the first quarter with poor shooting and poor perimeter defense. Devin Harris supposedly can dribble from baseline to baseline in 3.9 seconds so obviously Steve Blake can't stay in front of him. Brandon Roy missed all his shots from the floor in the first half yet came alive in the fourth quarter. Przybilla only had three rebounds, but five blocked shots.
Nicolas Batum had a career night with 20 points on 7-8 shooting and his hustle kept Portland in the game all night long. He seems like a steal since he was a late first round pick. Jordan compared him to Pippen. I wouldn't go that far, but he has a lot of skill and he's still just a young rookie.
Portland could've used Fernandez tonight, but he's still recovering from the mugging by Ariza.
Blazer highlights: Roy scored 31 points even though he only shot 8-21 from the field. Outlaw had 10 boards and was more active overall. The Blazers blocked 10 shots.
Blazer lowlights: Sergio and Bayless did diddly squat this game. Portland needs to find a reliable backup PG somewhere.
Portland needed this win since the playoff race in the Western Conference is tight. Most of the teams in contention are separated by just a couple of games in the standings.
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