We'd seen an advance script of this finish. The Timbers would, mostly against the run of play, grab a goal in stoppage time to deny the LA Galaxy, sending a packed Providence Park into raptures and sending Bruce Arena down his touchline huffing and puffing and shaking his head like some oblivious couple just swept into the taxi he had hailed.

We saw the Timbers do it in 2013, courtesy of an Andrew Jean-Baptiste header. We saw it last year in the 95th minute thanks to Diego Valeri. And this year, the Timbers scored in stoppage time thanks to a goliath long-ball from Liam Ridgwell, which was taken down by Darlington Nagbe and slipped to Fanendo Adi, who waited, and waited, and fired the Timbers into a delirious 2-1 lead.

It would last for about 100 seconds.

This time it would be Caleb Porter shaking his head. Former USL Timber Alan Gordon, the same man who was suspended for a homophobic slur he used in a game in Portland two years ago, climbed above Jorge Villafana and looped a header past Adam Larsen Kwarasey to level the game at 2-2.

The Timbers-LA games in Portland never fail to deliver. For the second year in a row in this fixture, both teams scored in stoppage time. There's something to be said for how these two teams play each other—they put together ebbs and flows, and save the real drama for the very very end.

MORE AFTER THE JUMP!

This was a game of thirds: The Timbers punched LA in the mouth in the first half hour, and got their just reward: A coast-to-coast, down-the-throat goal, started by Kwarasey, sparked by Diego Chara, unlocked by Darlington Nagbe, set-up by Rodney Wallace, and finished with aplomb by Fanendo Adi.

From there, LA woke up. The defending champions hit the snooze button a couple of times, but from minutes 30-70, they were all class.

Sharp in midfield, the Galaxy overloaded the wings and set up their culminating goal, a swift finish at the near-post from Gyasi Zardes. From there, it was a see-saw affair that had the kind of final flourish only this fixture could produce.

On one hand, the Timbers should be very happy with themselves. They went toe-to-toe with the class of MLS, scored two sublime goals, have a clear understanding tactically of what they want to do, and appear to be weathering three massive injuries just fine.

On the other, it kills to let three points slip in stoppage time. Why was Jorge Villafana marking Gordon? Why do the Timbers switch off after scoring? Why can't they win in March?

Truth was, Portland didn't deserve three points. The truth also is, the great teams win when they don't.

If LA had been able to throw out a Landon Donovan — or Steven Gerrard — they would have completely broken the game open. All day, they were one player away from cutting the Timbers to pieces. Isolating both the Timbers' full-backs, LA had plenty of joy on the wings through the likes of Robbie Rogers and Stefan Ishizaki, but lacked the game-breaking talent to consistently capitalize on their opportunities.

It's hard to think that Bruce Arena didn't just loosen the noose that LA had slung around the Timbers' neck with twenty minutes left to go. Not only did he kill LA's shape and fluidity by bringing in Gordon for an effective Jose Villareal and use the Galaxy's last sub to change his left-back, but the decision to start a particularly brutish Baggio Husidic in midfield instead of the silky Finish international Mika Vayrynen was confounding at best.

That LA ground out a point on a day when Robbie Keane was bottled up, Juninho wasn't his best self, and the team appeared to be slightly mismanaged is hardly surprising. If Arena can figure out how to best integrate Gerrard when he arrives in July, we just got a good look at the heavy favorites to repeat as MLS Cup champions.

The Timbers, meanwhile, also have a light at the end of spring: The return of Diego Valeri. What that will do to Darlington Nagbe, however, could be a season-defining move.

Everything positive the Timbers did in this game flowed through Nagbe, who was miles cleaner on the ball than any of Portland's other attackers and the best player on the field. Nagbe's propensity for drifting out of games has been negated by lining him up in the center of the field behind Fanendo Adi, with whom he has developed the kind of rapport he has never had with any of the Timbers' strikers who have played in front of him.

Nagbe is getting better and better at finding the ball, and even in this game — which was played mostly on the wings and in each team's final third — he made his presence felt. One of the best things about watching the Timbers is seeing Nagbe get into that zone where he simply has to be fouled to be stopped.

Nagbe might be notorious for his passivity, but no one in MLS turns opposition players into fouling machines with more regularity. Porter said after the game that Valeri would most likely slide back into the #10 role when he returns, but keeping Nagbe in his current form has to be one of the Timbers' greatest priorities.

Part of the reason for that is, there isn't much else happening offensively. Dairon Asprilla struggled mightily in his second start and was hooked less than ten minutes into the second half, with the hope that his replacement Gaston Fernandez could relieve pressure and help the Timbers keep the ball.

Problem being, Fernandez was garbage. The clock is officially ticking on La Gata's time in Portland. He got a second season based on the premise that he could replace Valeri for the first two months of the year, but he never won a starting job, and was beyond ineffective in his forty minutes against the Galaxy. Someone as small as Fernandez needs to play with speed, but the Argentine is too often a languid player.

Rodney Wallace continues to get himself into good positions, and his assist to Adi on the first goal notwithstanding, he continues to have trouble capitalizing. Diego Chara was helpful in springing the offense, and his understanding with Nagbe was especially constructive, but he's a limited attacker. Jack Jewsbury, although very effective once again, is about finished as an attacking threat from the run of play.

So it was on Nagbe and Fanendo Adi in the final third, and it was the Nigerian who bagged the goals. Adi, it would seem, only scores in pairs, and both of his finishes did the buildup play that set them up justice. Few work as hard as Fanendo, and he played so well that Porter decided not to take him out of the game — which is why he was on the field to score in the stoppage time.

Adi's form and ability to hold play up is part of the reason the Timbers have gone direct this year. Porterball might not be dead, but it's fading fast. Gone are the short goal-kicks that used to give Donovan Ricketts fits, and gone are the long passing sequences in the attacking half of the field that gave Porter his first identity as an MLS coach.

Now, Portland are lumping balls out of the back, relying on Adi to link up play. The Timbers' results might not betray that they're without two of their most important players, but this stylistic shift does. Porter has to win, he's been dealt a rough hand, and the consequence is that Portland's soccer isn't what it once was.

And there's nothing wrong with that. Though Porter skirted acknowledging overtly that the Timbers' were going more direct post-game, it's no secret anymore.

This is turning into an interesting campaign. We have a patch-work team playing an opposite brand of soccer trying to stay afloat against the odds in a murderous Western Conference.

Spin this one however you want. Porter himself, for one, has finally figured out how to mold a narrative. He says point gained. You might say two points lost. We know this much for sure: An enthralling season is just getting underway.