Posts Tagged ‘blazers’

Blazers 90, Suns 99

Friday, April 30th, 2010


The Phoenix Suns advanced to the second round of the NBA Playoffs with a 99-90 win against the Portland Trailblazers. It was a determined, scrambling defensive effort, led by Grant Hill, that limited the Blazers to just 38% shooting from the field. And it is just the kind of defensive effort that Phoenix will need in their matchup with the San Antonio Spurs.

During the D’Antoni era, the Suns were eliminated by the Spurs three times.

  • 2005. The Spurs dumped the Suns in five games after running to a 3-0 series lead, and went on beat the Pistons in seven to claim the NBA Championship. This series was Amare Stoudemire’s coming out party, averaging 26 PPG against Tim Duncan. Yet he would miss the 05-06 season after having microfracture knee surgery.
  • 2007. The Spurs won a controversial game five with Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw suspended, and then outlasted the Suns in San Antonio to prevail in six games. The Spurs went on to sweep the Cavs in the NBA Finals. To date, the Suns’ best chance at winning the title.
  • 2008. Phoenix made a trade for Shaquille O’Neal, largely to toughen up to beat the Spurs. The teams met in the first round and the Spurs had consecutive buzzer-beating 3-pointers from Michael Finley and Tim Duncan to stretch the game to double overtime victory. Phoenix went out in five, and ultimately missed the 2009 playoffs in the aftermath.

Now, the first chapter of the Suns-Spurs rivalry in the new decade will be written. San Antonio is a powerhouse seventh seed and made light work of the Mavericks in six. The Suns don’t have the same mentality as the D’Antoni teams, possessing defensive buy-in, a deep rotation and veteran leadership.

The stage is set, a magnificent second round matchup. Go Suns!

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Posted in Season 09-10 | 1 Comment »

Blazers 77, Thunder 89

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

The Oklahoma City Thunder steamed into the All-Star break with a hard-fought 89-77 win over the Portland Trailblazers. Behind a strong fourth quarter at both ends of the floor, the Thunder improved on their impressive road record and earned Kevin Durant his first win at the Rose Garden.

Durant was cold shooting after scoring the Thunder’s first handful of points in a fast 6-0 start. But riding on the back of stifling team defense in the fourth, he lit up the Blazers and took the game away down the stretch. Durant will make his first All-Star appearance on Sunday for the Western Conference and is leading the league in scoring with Cleveland’s Lebron James.

The beaten-down Trailblazers, whose only scoring option in the fourth was veteran Andre Miller, picked themselves up on the following night to beat the Suns in Phoenix, snapping the Suns’ five game winning streak. These games further muddy the playoff picture in the West.

Heading into the All-Star break, the Spurs, Thunder, Suns and Blazers are separated by only one game in the standings. Yet it is the Thunder, with a six game winning streak, who take the most momentum into the second half of the season. And let’s not forget, Oklahoma City might just be a quiet player at the trade deadline on Thursday, with cap space, draft picks and expiring contracts.

My expectation continues to build for the Suns-Thunder game after the break.

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Posted in Season 09-10 | No Comments »

Mavs 81, Blazers 85

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

The Dallas Mavericks lost ugly to the Portland Trailblazers 81-85 on Wednesday’s live NBA game on One HD. Despite standout performances from Nowitzki (27 pts) and Barea (22 pts), the Mavs could not overcome the injury plagued Blazers.

As a Suns fan, I was looking forward to seeing Shawn Marion suit up for Dallas. But Marion had possibly one of the worst games of his career. His 0 points, 4 fouls and 2 turnovers in 25 frustrating minutes were the epitomy of an awful night for the home fans at American Airlines Center. And to top if off, Marion couldn’t even find a spot on the floor for the final Mavs’ play of the game. In Phoenix, opposing defenses would have looked for Marion to convert around the rim on the inbound pass. In Dallas, the Blazers’ defense was looking at Marion on the bench while Tim Thomas took his spot on the floor.

Shawn Marion’s career will always be difficult to qualify. I appreciated his Suns’ days more than many other Suns’ fans. But I think that he will be remembered not as a four-time All-Star, but the player who Phoenix traded for Shaquille O’Neal. And with more performances like this one, he might fade from NBA memory even faster.

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Posted in Season 09-10 | No Comments »