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Live from the Moda Center as the Portland Trail Blazers host the Memphis Grizzlies. Playoff basketball is back in Portland, y’all!

Sure, this probably isn’t what the Blazers had in mind for the postseason. They’re limping back home down 0-2, with one of their stars in the middle of a slump and the other in the middle of surprising chatter about where he’ll sign next year. And to think, just a few months and one achilles injury ago, this team seemed ready to battle for the Western Conference title. Now they’re in danger of getting swept out of the first round.

The safe confines of the Moda Center are just what the doctor ordered—a little home cooking, a raucous home crowd, and not a bongo in sight. Having both Arron Afflalo and Chris Kaman back will certainly help, but a few extra healthy-ish bodies does not a series make. If the Blazers are going to have a shot at toppling the Grizzlies, they’re going to need Damian Lillard and they’re going to need to make some threes. If Beno Udrih could get Space Jam-ed or Thunderstruck and lose his powers to play basketball, that would help too.

This is it. Game three. Do or die time. Playoff basketball, after the jump!

PRE-GAME:
Before things get underway, can we please all agree to stop the LaMarcus Aldridge chatter? The season isn’t even over and already the vultures are circling. There’s a whole long off-season for him to decide where to sign next season and there’s no reason to start that conversation yet. But if he does ultimately decide to choose somewhere other than Portland, at least we know who to blame.

Okay, back to the game at hand. Playoff basketball is just the best. Coming into the arena, the concourse was a straight party—live music, balloon animal booths, and a spot where you could shoot arrows just like Wesley Matthews.

Inside, it's a sea of red shirts. Fans are slowly making their way to their seats, but the atmosphere is already great. A February game against the Timberwolves this ain't. The lights on the banners are amplified, there are fancy new TVs on press row, and the media screens are down for the pre-game intros.

Meek Mill is blasting. There's a standing ovation during the home team's entrance. Let's do this.

Wait, what?! With seven minutes left to go, after an impromptu "Let's Go Blazers" chant broke out, Wesley Matthews is coming onto the court wearing an Iron Man helmet. Like, in a suit with a helmet on. This crowd is losing it. Standing ovation isn't doing this reaction justice. And, right on cue, here comes the "Wes-ley Matt-hews" chant. Okay, NOW let's do this.

FIRST QUARTER:
11:28 - Aldridge missed his first jumper long, and Courtney Lee came down and silenced this crowd with a fifteen-foot jumper. 2-0 Grizz.

10:35 - After getting his first dunk attempt blocked, LA grabbed his own rebound and somehow hoisted a fade away over Marc Gasol's arms. He beat the shot clock buzzer by a hair, and the Blazers are on the board. 4-2 Grizz.

8:52 - Dame tripped coming to get the ball on an in bounds pass, yet still managed to recover and fire a three. Money. Hopefully that's the start of a big night. 6-5 Grizz.

7:58 - So Courtney Lee isn't slowing down. He hit back to back jumpers, giving him seven points already. Dude needs to turn back into a pumpkin, and quick. 11-5 Grizz.

5:58 - That shot that Aldridge made earlier to beat the shot clock buzzer? They reviewed it during that timeout and he didn't get it off in time. Whoops! Portland lost two points. I'm not a math major, but I think going backwards in points is not a winning strategy. 11-5 Grizz.

4:47 - Courtney Lee, and-one. Slow that man down. 16-7 Grizz.

2:56 - The Blazers got a stop, which is good. They couldn't secure the rebound, which is not good. It will be Memphis ball out of the timeout, another second-chance opportunity for the Grizzlies. Ugh. 20-11 Grizz.

1:40 - CJ for three! And the field goal percentage for the Blazers is up to...26%. 22-14 Grizz.

0:58 - The Blazers forced a shot clock violation, then Batum drained a three on the other end! Okay, now we have ourselves a game. See what a few made threes can do? 22-17 Grizz.

0:00 - Considering how poorly the Blazers shot the ball to start, things could be looking a lot worse right now. The Grizzlies are shooting over 50% from the field, the Blazers are under 30%, and yet it's just a five point game. Baby steps. 24-19 Grizz.

SECOND QUARTER:
11:26 - After getting his first basket taken away, LA is still an 0-fer from the field. He's made four free throws, including two just now, but Portland needs that jumper to drop. 26-21 Grizz.

10:27 - Meyers Leonard picked up a questionable call going for a rebound, giving Memphis another possession. Of course Nick Calathes drained the triple on the extra possession. Meyers has two fouls in two minutes, which sounds about right. 29-23 Grizz.

9:52 - Kosta Koufos with the emphatic and-one, driving an open lane and dunking it home. CJ did his best to contest, but he wasn't even close. 32-24 Grizz.

8:33 - Afflalo sent Jeff Green flying on a layup attempt, and they're going to the monitor to review it to see if it was a flagrant. After two seconds, they refs came back and called it a common foul. It wasn't even close. I want those two seconds back, please. 36-26 Grizz.

7:53 - Once again, the Blazers are falling apart during the second quarter. And once again, the Blazers are going to have themselves a massive uphill climb. 38-26 Grizz.

7:19 - Hey, LaMarcus finally hit from the field! 38-28 Grizz.

6:00 - Dame with a step-back three! Please get hot. Please get hot. Please get hot. 42-33 Grizz.

5:41 - Aaaaand the Grizzlies answered with an and-one from Mike Conley. Portland just can't put together consecutive positive possessions. 45-33 Grizz.

5:00 - Vince Carter just took a streaking CJ down with a horse collar tackle, but the refs just deemed it a common foul. Neil Olshey was up off his seat, screaming, pointing a finger directly at the ref who made the call. Dude was livid. 45-37 Grizz.

4:23 - And-one for Vince Carter, three-pointer for Batum. Trading buckets isn't going to cut it—Portland needs to slow down the Memphis offense. 48-40 Grizz.

3:13 - Two free throws for Aldridge, a driving basket at the rim for Dame, and Memphis needs time. 50-44 Grizz.

1:41 - Dame tried to go under the pick and was burned by a Mike Conley three. He has to figure out how to defend the pick and roll—think he can do that in the next ten minutes? 55-46 Grizz.

1:02 - Remember when the Blazers had this to within six? Me neither. 58-46 Grizz.

0:00 - Only twenty-four minutes left for the Blazers to make this a series. The way things are going, it's....not looking good. The Blazers are playing better tonight, but they're still down double-digits at half. I guess the good news is Aldridge won't go 1-10 from the floor in the second half, but even with that, it's on the defensive end where the real problems are. 62-49 Grizz.

THIRD QUARTER:
11:30 - The Blazers started the quarter with their best possession of the night, firing the ball all around the perimeter until Batum ended up with a wide open three. That looked like Spurs basketball. More of that, please. 62-52 Grizz.

9:50 - Aldridge nailed his first shot of the half, a runner in the lane over Randolph. Like I said, he wouldn't go 1-10 again this half. 62-54 Grizz.

6:47 - I'm going to have nightmares about this Memphis team. The Blazers just can't seem to get over the hump, can't put together multiple stops/scores. Grit and grind is the best motto I have ever heard. The Grizzlies are the grittiest and the grindiest. 70-56 Grizz.

4:37 - At least CJ finally decided to show up. He has been a bright spot tonight, and just shook Mike Conley out of his shoes for an up and under bucket. 74-62 Grizz.

4:03 - I didn't see what happened, but CJ and Mike Conley came together going for a rebound, and Conley is down and hurt. He spent the whole timeout on the floor, and is just now getting to his feet holding a towel to his face. Maybe a finger to the eye? Shot to the nose? He is heading straight back to the locker room. 74-64 Grizz.

3:05 - Dame gambled for a steal...and Nick Calathes benefited with a wide open three. This series isn't going to end up on Lillard's highlight reel. 79-66 Grizz.

2:09 - Dame got beat backdoor by a balding white guy. That's all you need to know. 82-69 Grizz.

1:02 - Jeff Green with the acrobatic and-one in the lane. I've seen Portland pull off some crazy comebacks, but guys, the writing is on the wall. 85-71 Grizz.

0:00 - Yep, just what was needed: a "refs, you suck" chant during the break. When all else fails, blame the guys in black and white. 85-75 Grizz.

FOURTH QUARTER:
11:41 - Aldridge draws a foul to start the quarter, and his two makes have the Blazers within single digits once again. But again, that's like twenty against this defense—it's still going to be a massive struggle to come back. 85-77 Grizz.

8:26 - Dame and CJ both passed up threes to let Chris Kaman take a fifteen footer over Gasol. Guess what? It didn't go in. 89-79 Grizz.

7:29 - Batum nearly picked up the elusive four-point play, but his triple just missed. He still went to the line for three freebies and nailed 'em all. Also, it was just announced that Conley is done for the night. 90-82 Grizz.

6:04 - Rebound. For the love of all that is holy, rebound. The Grizzlies are picking up second and third chances every time down the court, which is an absolute killer when trying to mount a comeback. 92-82 Grizz.

5:31 - Batum was off from deep, and Gasol nailed a mid-ranger jumper on the other end. Timeout Portland. Too soon to call that one the dagger? 94-82 Grizz.

4:10 - Hey now! That's a quick 5-0 run for the Blazers behind a turnaround jumper from Batum and a transition three from Afflalo. Timeout Memphis. 94-87 Grizz.

2:50 - The defense is getting stops! Aldridge drew a shooting foul, but he was only able to sink one of two. 94-88 Grizz.

2:24 - Gasol missed! Dame drove the lane in transition, kicked to an open Batum behind the line...three! This place is going nuts. 94-91 Grizz.

1:32 - Oof. Tony Allen scored at the rim, Batum missed a three, and now Z-Bo is headed to the line for two freebies. First one up...it's good. Second...good. Time is running out. 98-91 Grizz.

1:14 - There's your dagger. Dame missed from deep, and Tony Allen leaked out into transition for the easy dunk. Sorry, Blazers. It's still best of seven, but there's no coming back now. Better luck next year. 100-91 Grizz.

1:09 - Batum for another three, and the Blazers fouled Tony Allen quickly on the in bounds. He sank 'em both. Too little, too late. 102-94 Grizz.

0:48 - The Blazers are playing the foul game, but going for the quick two instead of hitting from deep. The Grizzlies are hitting all of their free throws, so there hasn't been any movement in the score. 107-99 Grizz.

0:12 - Batum's three is off, and though the fouling extended the game for a few minutes, this one is now done. 113-104 Grizz.

FINAL: 115-109 Grizzlies. The Blazers are now 0-7 against this Grizzlies this season, and are looking at a 0-3 deficit in this series. Good job, good effort, but Memphis just owns this matchup. Yeah, it's still a best of seven series, but this one is over. No way the Blazers come back and win four in a row. Not against this team. Game four is on Monday if you're a glutton for pain.