Live from the Moda Center as the Portland Trail Blazers host the Toronto Raptors.

Break out the lint rollers! After slogging through two duds against the Knicks and 76ers, the Blazers are back at it against the top squad in the Eastern Conference. Finally, some real competition.

The Blazers and Raptors are very similar teams. Both are led by assistant coaches from the Dallas team that won it all in 2011. Both have rabid fan bases that take any negativity towards the franchise as a personal slight. The Raptors were named after Jurassic Park, while Blazers owner Paul Allen probably owns like six islands full of dinosaurs.

Oh, and that whole “We The North” thing? Isn’t that cute. Good for you for having your own hashtag, Raptors. So, uh, who’s going to be the one to tell them that Portland is actually further North than T Dot?

PRE-GAME:
I love this Raptors team—maybe it’s because Drake is their cultural ambassador, but their whole crew goes from 0 to 100 real quick. Cooking with the sauce, chef, curry with pot boy. Kyle Lowry is an All-Star, Lou Williams is playing out of his mind, and Jonas Valanciunas is a Mike Rice annunciation fever dream come true. That they’re off to this torrid start with DeMar DeRozan on the shelf is just that much more impressive.

Portland is still sitting in second in the Western Conference, but even better is their defense is now the second-best in the league. Unreal. This is a team that was mostly seen as an offensive powerhouse just a year ago. If it’s true what they say, and defense does win championships, the Blazers are on the right track.

And they’ll be even on the righter track—yep, that grammar checks out fine—since LaMarcus Aldridge is making his way back to the lineup tonight. He isn’t 100% yet, still dealing with that upper respiratory illness, but 60% of Aldridge is better than no Aldridge at all.

Hold on to your butts, we’re in for a great game tonight.

FIRST QUARTER:
11:20 - Wow, lots of Raptors fans in attendance tonight. They erupted after James Johnson put back a miss. The Raptors got three looks on their first possession—Portland can't give extra opportunities to this team. 2-0 Raptors.

10:09 - Both of Toronto's baskets have come off of offensive rebounds. Aldridge gave them a bit of their own medicine, corralling a Freeland miss and putting it back in. 5-4 Blazers.

8:45 - Another Toronto offensive rebound, another make inside. Oof. Not a great start on the glass for Portland. 10-5 Raptors.

5:27 - The Blazers are really missing Robin Lopez tonight. So far twelve of Toronto's points have come in the paint, but it feels like it has been closer to all of the points. 16-11 Raptors.

4:05 - Chris Kaman with four quick points, two coming off of a rebound of his own miss. Stotts went to him a little earlier than normal tonight and it's paying off. Dad strength! 16-15 Raptors.

2:32 - Nicolas Batum is already 0-3 from deep. So much for breaking out of that shooting slump. 18-17 Raptors.

1:30 - Greivis Vasquez with five quick points, three on a desperation heave to beat the shot clock buzzer and two on a little Derrick Rose floater in the lane. I don't know what world this is, but I want to get out of it. 23-19 Raptors.

0:00 - Finally, a break! Jonas hit a jumper as time expired, but it was too late. No good. 23-23 Tie.

SECOND QUARTER:
10:24 - Dorell Wright with the nifty move in the lane, faking a pass to the corner, drawing the defense, and dropping a bounce pass to an open Kaman for the easy jam. 25-25 Tie.

9:56 - Lou Williams is on a 5-0 run by himself, all from the charity stripe. CJ McCollum has to keep those hands down. 30-25 Raptors

8:26 - The last three Portland possessions have ended in a rimmed out three, another rimmed out three, and a turnover. They've only scored two points this quarter. That...that isn't good. Time to get Dame back in there, and quick. 30-25 Raptors.

7:52 - CJ McCollum got hit going around a pick and caught a little of Lou Williams—Lou threw it up and drew the foul behind the arc, but thankfully they didn't call it a shooting foul. That would have been an 8-0 run by Lou at the free throw line. As it stands, James Johnson just hit the easy two, and giving up two points is better than three. 32-25 Raptors.

5:57 - Uh oh, things are getting surly. Dame had a beautiful play, driving the lane and dishing to Aldridge for the easy two, but Kyle Lowry flopped on the pass off and an offensive foul was called instead. No basket. The boo birds are out, and rightfully so after that call. Portland still just has two points in the quarter, and are 1-12 from deep. 32-25 Raptors.

4:50 - Lowry tried to flop again, but the refs didn't call it. Dame got the easy two, and hopefully the lid is off of the basket now. 36-27 Raptors.

3:25 - That was about as mad as I think I've seen Dame get. He was called for another offensive foul—James Johnson drew the charge this time—and Lillard was having none of it. He is visibly frustrated. 38-29 Raptors.

1:53 - Kyle Lowry is out here doing work. My goodness. 42-31 Raptors.

1:24 - Dame with the step back. Please get it going. Please get it going. Please get it going. The Blazers still just have 8 points this quarter. 43-33 Raptors.

0:54 - Wesley for three! Arrows up! 43-36 Raptors.

0:00 - That was one of the worst quarters the Blazers have played all season. And yet? They're only down seven. There's two easy steps for Portland to walk away with a victory tonight. Step one is to make more threes, and step two is lock Kyle Lowry in the bathroom during half. 45-38 Raptors.

THIRD QUARTER:
11:39 - The Blazers go right into Aldridge to start, and he hit the easy hook in the lane. That's a much better start than last quarter. 45-40 Raptors.

9:21 - A couple of offensive rebounds for Portland, a three for Matthews. There we go. 52-45 Raptors.

8:57 - Huh? So the Blazers forced a twenty-four second violation. Both teams were already running the other way down the court. The official out top called a foul, they reviewed it to make sure it happened before the clock expired, and it apparently did. Amir Johnson got two freebies out of it. 54-45 Raptors.

6:34 - The good news is Portland's offense is doing much better this quarter. The bad news is their defense is getting shredded. Toronto is getting everything they want. 60-47 Raptors.

5:19 - Batum with the steal, Dame with the three. The crowd is alive. 60-52 Raptors.

4:08 - Toronto put a squash on that run quickly. They've answered Portland's 5-0 with two quick buckets of their own. There's a lot of game left, but the Blazers sure seem to be headed towards their third home loss of the year. 64-52 Raptors.

3:38 - Or not, if Dame can keep nailing those threes. 64-55 Raptors.

0:30 - The Blazers secured a rebound and were headed down the court for a quick two for one. Dame was calling for the ball, and it was clear he was going up with it as soon as he touched it. Thirty feet out, nothing but net. 70-63 Raptors.

0:00 - Portland got a stop, and Dame had another look from deep as the quarter expired. He just rimmed it off, and this place deflated like he had just kicked a puppy. 70-63 Raptors.

FOURTH QUARTER:
10:24 - Do you think Wesley's favorite Walkmen album is Bows + Arrows? 72-66 Raptors.

7:58 - Tyler Hansbrough guarding LaMarcus in the post went about as well as you would expect. LaMarcus picked up the bucket and foul with ease. 77-70 Raptors.

6:56 - The Blazers are going with a steady diet of Aldridge in the post, and it's paying off. He's drawn two fouls, and kicked out to Steve Blake for an open three on that last possession. We have ourselves a game. 77-73 Raptors.

6:24 - Aldridge in the post one more time, Aldridge with the turnaround jumper. Timeout Toronto. This place is amped. 77-75 Raptors.

6:15 - And of course Lowry hits the step-back out of the timeout. 79-75 Raptors.

5:26 - Batum off the dribble three? Why not? 81-78 Raptors.

5:04 - Dame hasn't received a foul call all night, and Lowry has picked up two questionable ones here in the last two Toronto possessions. Terry Stotts is on the sideline grinning like a maniac—he can't believe it, and can't do anything but laugh it off. 83-78 Raptors.

3:19 - The Raptors are in the penalty, so that last Amir Johnson flop and trip of of Aldridge sent LaMarcus to the line. With a chance to give Portland the lead, he could only sink one of two. Still, we're all tied up! 83-83 Tie.

2:20 - The Blazers forced a great stop, but couldn't corral the rebound. It went out off of LaMarcus, giving Toronto an extra possession, and they were able to score easily off of the in bound play. Brutal. 85-83 Raptors.

1:34 - LaMarcus with the twenty-footer! Blazers lead! 87-85 Blazers.

0:33 - Portland had a chance to go up two scores, but turned the ball over. The Raptors missed their first attempt, but guess what happened next? Yep, they got the offensive rebound. Timeout Toronto, and they'll get another chance to tie or take the lead. 87-85 Blazers.

0:22 - Oh man. Lowry had his first shot swatted out of bounds by Batum, so the Raps had another chance at it. Lowry managed to get wide open for a three after passing it in, but juuuust missed it, and the rebound was batted out of bounds. The refs reviewed it, and it'll be Portland ball out of the timeout. 87-85 Blazers.

0:17 - Oh goodness. The Blazers were trying to play keep away instead of taking the foul. Batum threw a cross court pass over the head of Steve Blake. Lowry straight trucked Steve Blake as Blake was trying to track down the overthrow. No foul, despite the football tackle. Out of bounds to Toronto. Unreal. 87-85 Blazers.

0:04 - Ugh, tie game. Joel Freeland made a great play to block a Lowry layup out of bounds, but Toronto got another look at it. Amir Johnson hit a baby hook to bring it back to even. Portland will get the last look. Y'all know what time it is. 87-87 Tie.

0:00 - Dame had a great look at it. He drove the lane, split the defense, but left it just a hair short. Everyone in this building thought that was going in, but it's on to free basketball. 87-87 Tie.

OVERTIME:
4:25 - Welp. The Blazers turn it over on their first possession, and Terrence Ross made them pay by draining a triple in transition. 90-87 Raptors.

4:05 - Dame for three. All is right with the world. 90-90 Tie.

3:23 - Wesley for three! 93-90 Blazers.

2:50 - Batum for three! All of the threes! Timeout Toronto! 96-90 Blazers.

1:48 - Another rough break. Freeland grabbed a tough rebound in traffic but was surrounded by three Raptors. He had nowhere to go with it, tried to pivot until he found some space, but ultimately Lowry hacked the ball loose. Batum was hit with a goaltending call trying to block the easy layup. 96-92 Blazers.

1:08 - Portland forced a turnover, but Wesley hesitated on the triple. He jumped but had to throw a weak pass instead. It was picked off. It was ruled a clear path foul, but after review (seriously, like the fiftieth review tonight), it was overturned. Toronto ball. 96-92 Blazers.

0:23 - After hitting on the previous possession to bring it to within two, Lowry missed his next jumper. The Blazers leaked out into transition after grabbing the rebound, and Vasquez wrapped up Batum on the break. They're reviewing this for a clear path foul—another review, holy hell—but this one is going to stand. Batum was only able to connect on one of the two freebies, but Portland will get the ball out of bounds. 97-94 Blazers.

0:19 - It's down to the foul game. Lillard went to the line amidst a light smattering of "MVP" chants, and he was able to knock down both. 99-94 Blazers.

0:15 - Wait a second. Dame only made one of two free throws. I thought he didn't miss in the clutch? 100-96 Blazers.

0:06 - Toronto almost forced another turnover, but the Blazers were barely able to push the ball up the court. Freeland was wide open under the rim, caught the outlet pass, and dunked it home to all but seal this one. 102-97 Blazers.

FINAL: 102-97 Blazers. What a weird game. The Blazers looked awful for long stretches, the refs had no idea what they were doing, and despite trying to give it away late, Portland walked away with a victory. It wasn't pretty, and the constant reviews really sucked the fun out the win, but Portland knocked off the best team in the East. See you in 2015!