Peja's NBA Photo.
Kidd. Beasting.
I started taking notes during my viewing of this game, and in the interest of going less stat-heavy with my posts (and hopefully more entertainment heavy), I will be sharing some of those with you, my faithful readers. Or reader.
For the first quarter, Portland actually looked good as a team. They played very active defense, forcing a couple of turnovers from Dallas, and just generally being pesky, deflecting passes out of bounds and getting the Mavs out of rhythm. Offense ran smoothly, getting several nice points on plays where they would throw the ball to LaMarcus Aldridge in the post, with his back to the basket, and then everyone clears out, leaving LA one-on-one. I sincerely hope that you don’t need me to tell you how this ended. After being a non-factor, Gerald “Crash” Wallace looked much more ready for this game, and came out strong, crashing around (pun so intended) drawing fouls and such, even hitting a three.
I noted that with around three minutes to play, the Mavs seemed to wake up. The ball moved around. Shots started to fall. Defense seemed to tighten. Peja Stojakovic, thought to be dead for many years, came on to my TV screen. Then he hit a 3. I wrote “Zombie Peja?” in my notebook. Put a pen in there. We’ll come back to that.
The second quarter started with the game 24-22 Blazers. The Blazers got there offense at this point off of Nicolas Batum, who looked great, driving, shooting jumpers, catching full court passes and dishing to Aldridge for an ally. Somewhere in-between this, Peja hits another shot. I begin to wonder if I’m hallucinating.
Then the momentum shifts. With 5:20 left in the quarter, Tyson Chandler steals the ball, and finds JET Terry on the break for a dunk to tie the game. The telecasters make an annoying number of “flaps down jokes.” About a minute and twenty seconds later, Jason Kidd, whom the Blazers have been having nightmares about since game one, shoots some kind of weird underhanded shot as he’s being fouled, and in some kind of strange test of my mental state, the ball goes in. Kidd tries his very hardest to look like he meant to do that, and fails miserably. Then the Cromagnon Man (Dirk, kids, try to keep up) gets an and-one. Portland refuses to let this stop them, and we get a wonderful Miller-LA ally, and get to see Aldridge murder in the post some more before half-time. Blazers manage to retain the lead.
And much to my chagrin, they do not show more pictures of Chuck with his shirt off during the break, so Kenny doesn’t get to make a “flaps down” joke about his physique.
The second half begins, and Blazers’ fans, I’m sorry, but Jason Kidd tires of your team’s insubordination. The Mavs take the lead by scoring on six straight possessions, the first four of which go Kidd 3, Kidd 2, Kidd lay-up, Kidd 2. The Mavs take the lead, and never look back. Jason Terry scores on the most impossibly high tear drop that you will ever see. I get to write “More Zombie?” in my notebook as Peja scores on two straight possessions. The Blazers continue to use a great post game to keep them in it, but they end the quarter on a turnover, and those with widescreen TV’s probably saw the mop guys clearing away the last of Portland’s confidence off the court.
If the fourth quarter was a play, sadness would be the main character, and the Trailblazers would receive rave reviews in their portrayal of him. People just watch as Frodo Barea charges through the lane unharmed. Peja hits a three. I write “MORE ZOMBIE?!?” in my notebook. Portland gets silly fouls at critical moments. Dirk heats up. I write in DDD- Dirk Doin’ Dirk. Peja hits ANOTHER 3. I write “Peja ate my brain.”
And it was obvious that he had eaten Portland’s as well.
Key Moment:
With 9:43 to go in the 4th, and the score 78-73 Mavs, Andre Miller inbounds to Marcus Camby in the corner in front of the Mavs bench. Camby knocks down a huge 3 to pull within 2. Dallas misses their next shot. With the opportunity to tie, Andre Miller decides it is a prime time to elbow JJ Barea in the face. This could have given Portland the momentum to make a late run and possibly win, but its okay Andre. Anytime life gives you a chance to elbow JJ Barea in the face, you gotta do it.
What it Means for Portland:
It means they need to brainwash Nic Batum into never trying to guard Dirk. Dirk killed him all night. Behind 0-2, the series will now head back to Portland and a very tough arena for visiting teams to play. While Dallas did have a very strong road record, with the crowd behind them, maybe the Blazers can find the mental strength to play four solid quarters and win three straight. If that happens, watch out.
What it Means for Dallas:
They get to walk into the series with 2-0 with the beliefs that A) Kidd ain’t dead yet, and B) some collection of their deep-as-Cuban’s-pockets bench players will help Dirk get the job done. I remember picking against the team, and while they could still lose in theory, I also remember writing that I was probably stupid for doing it. Got to love bet-hedging.
Thanks to blogtown.portlandmercury.com and DocFunk's Hilarious Tumblr for the pics.
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