Live from the Rosen Garden as the Portland Trail Blazers welcome the Golden State Warriors and wrap up the 2009-2010 season. It seems like a lifetime ago when this happened—look at all the unfamiliar names: Oden, Blake, Pryzbilla, Outlaw—and now the Blazers are prepared to put the finishing touches on arguably the most traumatic season in their 40 year history.
Due to the sheer insanity of league tiebreaking rules—if Dallas ties San Antonio tonight, I'm pretty sure the Tulsa Shock of the WNBA win the World Series—we're be scoreboard watching all night long. We'll be keeping an eye on the Phoenix/Utah game, as well as the Dallas/San Antonio matchup as well. Oh, and of course this game...
PRE-GAME:
LaMarcus Aldridge shouldn't be in the building tonight, he was hospitalized last night with a stomach flu—if the Blazers could get "knee flu," they would—and will be on the shelf until the playoffs start this weekend.
Since the Spurs just fell to the Mavs, the Blazers won't need to win this game. The sixth seed (and the $81,157 bonus that comes with it) is all theirs. Don't spend it all in one place, Patty Mills.
I'm excited for this glorified pre-season game. I expect to see plenty of the Blazer bench dwellers, plus whatever dregs the Warriors the conjure up. Truth be told, I should be live blogging the Suns/Warriors game, since that is the last game that matters.
Your Blazers starters: Andre Miller, Rudy Fernandez, Juwan Howard, Dante Cunningham, and Martell Webster.
FIRST QUARTER:
11:45 - It's been 15 seconds, pull the starters!!! 1-0 Blazers.
8:54 - We're debating who will get more minutes on the court tonight: Mills, Travis Dierner, or us. It's a toss-up right now. I'm stretching out, just in case. 9-7 Warriors.
4:32 - Thanks to the Warriors not really having a center, a few unlikely Blazers—both Webster and Rudy—have been scoring inside the paint. This game is only slightly more realistic than NBA Live on PS3. 24-24 all.
2:17 - Batum leads a fastbreak and tosses an alley-oop to Jeff Pendergraph for a monster dunk. It took all 82 games, but that was my highlight of the year. 28-26 Warriors.
0:30 - Wow, this is just a dunk show now. Pendergraph with another, and just as the rim stops shaking, Rudy passes a perfect alley-oops to Batum for yet another highlight dunk. 33-33 tie.
SECOND QUARTER:
10:51 - Rudy gets a three. Pendergraph gets a dunk. Blogger gets a beer. Fine, two out of three ain't bad. 40-36 Blazers.
8:27 - Travis Diener is in the game. Oh joy. 47-43 Blazers.
6:03 - Even more excited, the Suns are up by 17 against the Jazz. 51-45 Blazers.
0:00 - Pendergraph has a career high and the Suns are up 16. Blazers vs Suns, round one? It's looking like it... 60-58 Warriors.
THIRD QUARTER:
9:36 - People are doing stuff on the court, but everyone is glued to the Jazz/Suns game. I hate to see Rudy and Batum out there, risking injury, but I assume Diener is exhausted after his season high 8:27 of action. 64-62 Blazers.
4:27 - Sorry for the lack of coverage, this matchup is as challenging as a pickup game, but slightly less talented. Totally unrelated, Patty Mills just checked into the game. 78-74 Blazers.
3:24 - Patty Mills for three and they immediately cue up Men at Work. The Warriors look confused to why this crowd just lost it following that shot. 81-77 Blazers.
0:38 - This game has devolved into little more than an excuse for Pendergraph to dunk over/through weaker Golden State players. He's going to have a new highlight reel when this game is finished. 91-85 Blazers.
FOURTH QUARTER:
12:00 - A dozen more minutes before Portland starts looking towards the Phoenix Suns. Plus, a dozen more minutes before Don Nelson hits the bar. 91-85 Blazers.
7:47 - How unrealistic is this game: Pendergraph has 21 points to lead all Portland scorers. 101-101 tie.
4:47 - After trying all night, Golden State's Devean George finally fouls out. After ten years in the NBA, this might his last game, and that's not a bad way to go out. 108-105
3:45 - Don Nelson is running out of players. George, who was out of the game, is allowed back in on a technicality. I'm secretly hoping he suits up. He might be the only player to get a DUI on the court. 109-108 Blazers.
1:35 - Odd that a game this close can be so unimportant. 115-112 Warriors.
0:00 - Oh merciful God, it's over. The Blazers fall 122-116 and the season is over. That means the postseason has begun. It's been fun, and hope to have you here later this week when the playoffs begin.
