Thoughts on Houston 86, Portland 83

Gah. Portland had a chance to win this game, but Steve Blake inexplicably took a rushed three with 16 seconds left with dudes all over him and airballed it. He later hit a three, but Portland really needed a better shot on that possession. Portland played a good second half, but dug too deep of a hole in the first half.

I liked Portland's defense on Yao. He had just seven points and they were all in the first quarter. Portland fronted him with Przybilla and Oden and shut him down on the offensive end. He still rebounded and blocked shots on the defensive end though.

Portland played pretty good defense, but shot poorly. Houston is a bad matchup for Portland because they play great team defense. Portland took too many outside shots and wasn't very aggressive.

Portland better win on Sunday. It's on NBA TV so I'm not sure how I can watch it.