tlongII
05-13-2014, 10:09 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2014/05/trail_blazers_beat_san_antonio_spurs_force_game_5. html#incart_big-photo
http://imgick.oregonlive.com/home/olive-media/pgmain/img/oregonian/photo/2014/05/-ab33e66add605db4.jpg
Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12), congratulate Will Barton his 17-point game.
In the corner of a solemn and somber locker room, Nicolas Batum uttered three words that would make a nice Trail Blazers T-shirt right about now.
The San Antonio Spurs had just pummeled the Blazers for the third consecutive time in Game 3 of their best-of-seven playoff series and Batum snubbed his nose at NBA history. No team has ever rebounded from a 3-0 series deficit? Oh, well.
“Why not us?” he said.
Indeed.
After looking overmatched and overwhelmed over the first 12 quarters of the series, the Blazers finally awoke from a series-long slumber Monday night, defeating the Spurs 103-92 in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals before 20,141 at the Moda Center. The Spurs still hold a commanding 3-1 lead, but the door for a first-of-its-kind comeback nudged open ever so slightly, offering a glimmer of hope for the beleaguered Blazers.
“I thought they played with a passion that we didn’t match,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Passion. Persistence. Pride. All were uttered Sunday afternoon and Monday night from the Blazers. They didn’t flash much of either in the first three games, but displayed all in spades in Game 4.
Thomas Robinson was blocking shots and diving for loose balls. Will Barton was flying up and down the court for fast breaks and finishing alley-oops. Damian Lillard was posterizing Tim Duncan and punishing the Spurs over and over with relentless drives to the basket. The Blazers were hot from the start, building a six-point lead midway through the first quarter, and held the upper hand for the bulk of the night, leading by as many 20 in a stunning about-face.
And at the center of it all was Batum, who did it all. By the end of the night, it was fair to wonder what was more impressive: his difference-making defense on Tony Parker or his across-the-board production on offense. He was attached to the hip of his fellow Frenchman and close friend all night, holding the man who had been averaging 26.0 points and 8.3 rebounds in the series to just 14 points and one assist. And Batum also came within a whisker of recording the fifth playoff triple-double in franchise history, finishing with 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. If you blinked, you probably missed Batum do something impactful or impressive.
After the game, Batum sat on the scorer’s table near the Blazers’ bench and gathered himself for a postgame radio interview. Just before he slipped on a pair of headphones, he held up two fingers and chuckled. They represented the two assists he needed for his fifth career triple-double. A few minutes later, at the postgame podium, he continued to beat the “Why not us?” drum that might as well be the team’s slogan the rest of the series.
“Like we say, why not us?” he said. “It’s never been done before. We had no pressure. It was do-or-die. If we lose this, we’re headed for vacation. So we just go out there and play. We played a great game, we played our game, the game we used to play all season long.”
It was quite a transformation. Before Monday night, the Spurs had led for all but 33 seconds of the series, were averaging 116.0 points per game, had held leads of at least 20 points in all three games and won each by at least 15 points.
But the Blazers — who led for nearly 44 minutes in Game 4 — were a different team from the opening jump Monday, and they put the game away in the third quarter by unleashing their best and most dynamic quarter of the postseason. Lillard opened the second half with a three-pointer and the Blazers never looked back as Batum connected with Robin Lopez on three pick-and-rolls, Robinson recorded a mammoth two-handed dunk, Batum registered a four-point play and six different Blazers scored.
They reeled off a 14-3 run during one dominant stretch and outscored the Spurs 35-20 in the quarter, recording their highest-scoring period of the playoffs. The game was all but over heading into the fourth and, sure enough, with 6:47 left and the Blazers leading by 19 points, Popovich pulled his starters, conceding the inevitable.
Lillard finished with 25 points, five assists and four rebounds, LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and Wesley Matthews added 10 points. All the while the Blazers’ bench, led by the inspiring play of Barton and Robinson delivered the starters a much-needed jolt of adrenaline. Heading into Game 4, the Spurs’ bench had outscored the Blazers’ reserves 140-43. But in Game 4, Barton finished with 17 points, six rebounds, two assists — and infinite energy — while Robinson added nine points and five rebounds.
And now the series moves to Game 5. The Blazers remain heavy underdogs — teams are 0-109 in NBA history after losing the first three games — but their season isn’t over just yet.
“We got this one done, so now we focus on the next game,” Lillard said. “The first three games are gone. They outplayed us. There were a lot of things we could have done better, but we can’t go back and change it. So we have to focus on what we did tonight and try to let that grow, try to keep improving and focus on the next game.”
http://imgick.oregonlive.com/home/olive-media/pgmain/img/oregonian/photo/2014/05/-ab33e66add605db4.jpg
Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12), congratulate Will Barton his 17-point game.
In the corner of a solemn and somber locker room, Nicolas Batum uttered three words that would make a nice Trail Blazers T-shirt right about now.
The San Antonio Spurs had just pummeled the Blazers for the third consecutive time in Game 3 of their best-of-seven playoff series and Batum snubbed his nose at NBA history. No team has ever rebounded from a 3-0 series deficit? Oh, well.
“Why not us?” he said.
Indeed.
After looking overmatched and overwhelmed over the first 12 quarters of the series, the Blazers finally awoke from a series-long slumber Monday night, defeating the Spurs 103-92 in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals before 20,141 at the Moda Center. The Spurs still hold a commanding 3-1 lead, but the door for a first-of-its-kind comeback nudged open ever so slightly, offering a glimmer of hope for the beleaguered Blazers.
“I thought they played with a passion that we didn’t match,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Passion. Persistence. Pride. All were uttered Sunday afternoon and Monday night from the Blazers. They didn’t flash much of either in the first three games, but displayed all in spades in Game 4.
Thomas Robinson was blocking shots and diving for loose balls. Will Barton was flying up and down the court for fast breaks and finishing alley-oops. Damian Lillard was posterizing Tim Duncan and punishing the Spurs over and over with relentless drives to the basket. The Blazers were hot from the start, building a six-point lead midway through the first quarter, and held the upper hand for the bulk of the night, leading by as many 20 in a stunning about-face.
And at the center of it all was Batum, who did it all. By the end of the night, it was fair to wonder what was more impressive: his difference-making defense on Tony Parker or his across-the-board production on offense. He was attached to the hip of his fellow Frenchman and close friend all night, holding the man who had been averaging 26.0 points and 8.3 rebounds in the series to just 14 points and one assist. And Batum also came within a whisker of recording the fifth playoff triple-double in franchise history, finishing with 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. If you blinked, you probably missed Batum do something impactful or impressive.
After the game, Batum sat on the scorer’s table near the Blazers’ bench and gathered himself for a postgame radio interview. Just before he slipped on a pair of headphones, he held up two fingers and chuckled. They represented the two assists he needed for his fifth career triple-double. A few minutes later, at the postgame podium, he continued to beat the “Why not us?” drum that might as well be the team’s slogan the rest of the series.
“Like we say, why not us?” he said. “It’s never been done before. We had no pressure. It was do-or-die. If we lose this, we’re headed for vacation. So we just go out there and play. We played a great game, we played our game, the game we used to play all season long.”
It was quite a transformation. Before Monday night, the Spurs had led for all but 33 seconds of the series, were averaging 116.0 points per game, had held leads of at least 20 points in all three games and won each by at least 15 points.
But the Blazers — who led for nearly 44 minutes in Game 4 — were a different team from the opening jump Monday, and they put the game away in the third quarter by unleashing their best and most dynamic quarter of the postseason. Lillard opened the second half with a three-pointer and the Blazers never looked back as Batum connected with Robin Lopez on three pick-and-rolls, Robinson recorded a mammoth two-handed dunk, Batum registered a four-point play and six different Blazers scored.
They reeled off a 14-3 run during one dominant stretch and outscored the Spurs 35-20 in the quarter, recording their highest-scoring period of the playoffs. The game was all but over heading into the fourth and, sure enough, with 6:47 left and the Blazers leading by 19 points, Popovich pulled his starters, conceding the inevitable.
Lillard finished with 25 points, five assists and four rebounds, LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and Wesley Matthews added 10 points. All the while the Blazers’ bench, led by the inspiring play of Barton and Robinson delivered the starters a much-needed jolt of adrenaline. Heading into Game 4, the Spurs’ bench had outscored the Blazers’ reserves 140-43. But in Game 4, Barton finished with 17 points, six rebounds, two assists — and infinite energy — while Robinson added nine points and five rebounds.
And now the series moves to Game 5. The Blazers remain heavy underdogs — teams are 0-109 in NBA history after losing the first three games — but their season isn’t over just yet.
“We got this one done, so now we focus on the next game,” Lillard said. “The first three games are gone. They outplayed us. There were a lot of things we could have done better, but we can’t go back and change it. So we have to focus on what we did tonight and try to let that grow, try to keep improving and focus on the next game.”