Live from the Rose Garden as the Portland Trail Blazers take on the gorgeous cheekbones, delicate hair, and baby-soft skin of Kyle Korver and his Philadelphia 76ers.

What?

Philadelphia just traded Korver to Utah? Oh great, now what am I going to stare at for these next two hours? This picture? It’s just not the same…

Pre-Game
It goes without saying that the Blazers are the hottest team in the NBA (it's 12 straight wins for the Red & Black, just in case you recently emerged from a Mt. Hood snow cave), and they have good reason to make Philadelphia win number thirteen.

Way back on the 16th of November the Blazers shat the bedsheets in Philadelphia by blowing a 25 point lead and falling to the 76ers 92-88. It hardly seems like that same Blazers team who stumbled so poorly back in Philly could be the same confident squad who just reeled off a dozen consecutive wins, but it is.

Portland versus Philadelphia, this time it's personal. I mean, not as personal as that one shark that followed Ellen Brody from Amity to the Bahamas, but it's close.

Before opening tip-off they are running these win streak recaps on the big screen here at the Garden. It was pleasant when the streak was a couple games, but now it just takes forever. I'm not complaining, but it just puts the streak into perspective. It's been almost a month solid of winning basketball, that's pretty impressive.

First Quarter
5:31 - The 76'ers have yet to win a game when the opposing team racks up 100 points, so that would seem to be the Blazers' goal for today. But this sluggish start probably wasn't in the plans for the home team, as they trail 11-8 early.

3:52 - Martell Webster knocks down a couple three-pointers and suddenly an 100 point finish doesn't seem like a cruel joke. 17-14 Blazers.

0:55 - The 76'ers aren't that big under the basket, but their perimeter defense is solid and it's limited the Blazers a lone lay-up and whole lot of three-points attempts. 21-16 Blazers.

Second Quarter:
9:14 - Sergio Rodriguez drives and passes the ball to Nate McMillan, who, unfortunately for Sergio, retired from playing in the NBA in 1998. 25 all, it's tied.

5:49 - Josh McRoberts seemed to enjoy watching a man from Vancouver shoot a halfcourt shot for a free Toyota (he missed). Seeing as he has played a grand total of 2:36 this year, it's about as close to action as he gets. 34-31 Portland.

2:48 - LaMarcus Aldridge has the ball thud off his back, and things aren't looking too grand here. 36-36 tie.

1:30 - Andre Mille just scooped in an underhand (!) shot from about 6 feet out. That is some Globetrotters shit. 41-36 76'ers.

0:00 - The 76'ers finish the half with an impressive 16-2 run. All is not right here at the Rose Garden. 45-36 Philadelphia.

Third Quarter:
11:00 - Andre Iguodala gets a phantom foul from Brandon Roy. I guess the officials read his blog and have some sympathy for him. 47-36 76'ers. "Pressure can either burst pipes or form diamonds. I'm focused on the latter." Wow, that dude is intense.

8:28 - LaMarcus Aldridge hits a jumper, one that follows a series of fantastic baskets by Roy, and the Blazers are climbing their way back into this game. 49-44 Philadelphia.

5:31- And when I said "climbing their way back," I really meant, stumbling further and further away. The Blazers are still sloppy on offense and being out-hustled on the other end. 55-46 (West) Philadelphia, born and raised, on the the playground is where I spent most of my days...

2:18 - Andre Miller just comically passed the ball to the seated Blazers bench. This follows a running jump-hook by Channing Frye and a fastbreak three-pointer from Steve Blake, and so it would seem that Portland is coming back (again). 61-59 76'ers.

0:28 - Once again a James Jones three-point shot ends up with him on his back. He missed the shot, but nails all three free-throws. 63-62 Cheese Steaks.

Fourth Quarter:
11:43 - With less than 12 minutes left, it is now time for Portland to defend, and justify, the last 12 victories in a row. Travis Outlaw agrees, knocking down a quick jumper for the lead. 64-63 Blazers.

9:27 - All game long we've been waiting for that Blazers team to finally show up. They have arrived. Outlaw opens the quarter with five quick points and Roy follows with a dramatic running jumper. Then (former Blazers, and now current Philadelphia coach) Maurice Cheeks gets a technical foul for storming the court and yelling at the officials. Suddenly number 13 doesn't seem that far off. 70-63 Blazers.

8:23 - The last 3 minutes have easily eclipsed the first 36 minutes in excitement, this is getting ridiculous. Oh, I say this because an Outlaw blocked shot lead to a fastbreak Roy dunk, and one more timeout pow wow by the frustrated Philadelphia coaches. 74-63 Blazers.

5:44 - The 76'ers have all but packed their bags and headed home. The Blazers are on a 20-0 run right now and Philadelphia has not scored this quarter. Let me type that again, this time using HTML to show how impressive that is: 20-0 run! 79-63 Blazers.

4:37 - Outlaw just dunked a ball so fierce, so unholy, that it frightened me. 82-66 PDX.

1:45 - Holy shit! I say that not because the Blazers are on fire right now, but because Josh McRoberts has just made his home court debut. Don't blow it dude. 90-68 Portland.

0:31 - McRoberts shoots. McRoberts scores! Twice!! And with that, we're about done here. A disappointing three quarters, followed by a Blazers offensive eruption and win number 13 in a row! Good lord. 97-72 Portland.