There was many great moments and memories made on Sunday night at BC Place during the Timbers' dominating ouster of the Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

There was a group of players led, of course, by Nat Borchers, who danced along to the traveling Timbers Army's Tetris celebration at full-time. There was Fanendo Adi's booming series-winning goal, and Diego Chara icing Portland's second Western Conference Finals appearance in three years with a poised late finish, but the passage that spoke loudest about what happened in this contest came just ten minutes into the second half.

That was when, for a solid minute, with frustrated and exhausted Whitecaps players flying around the field in hopes of making contact with the ball, a Timbers player, or both, Portland played a game of keep away that was nothing short of remarkable. Tricks, flicks, challenges — the Timbers had all the answers.

This team toyed with Vancouver. They strung 'em up in the first leg, and hung 'em out in the second. It was a tie that played out exactly as Portland had hoped and figured it would: tight, but comfortable.

Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson said after the match that his team could have played another ninety minutes and still not scored. If anything, that was a conservative estimate. The 'Caps never got near the Timbers — but in fairness to them, few teams could have done much better. Portland is on the move, now two games away from MLS Cup.

What little hope Vancouver did have in this game flickered out when Gambian starlet Kekuta Manneh hobbled off in the opening stages.

It was Manneh who had the Whitecaps' only real chance of the evening when he tore through the Timbers defense with just a handful of minutes on the clock and ripped a shot that smashed off the left post, rebounded, hit a diving Adam Kwarasey in the back of the head, and skittered just wide for a corner kick.

Even at BC Place, goalposts play for Portland.

From there, the Timbers asserted their will. An especially bright Diego Valeri set up Adi and gave the Whitecaps a mountain to climb, and, by the time Chara brought the curtain down, Vancouver understood full well that they weren't going to salvage their first-ever home MLS playoff game.

Portland's second was a classic Chara goal, gotten because no one else had the ability or will to run anymore. The little man was a shade slow to work his way into the game after a fairly long layoff, but once properly greased, he turned in a performance that reminded everyone why Portland's 4-3-3 is such a game-changer.

Mostly on his own — though at times with able assistance from Darlington Nagbe — Chara dominated the defensive half of midfield and had the 'Caps flinging long-balls towards the man who supposedly is Octavio Rivero with increasing aimlessness.

On the other end of the field, Adi had one of his best games for Portland. He scored, notched an assist, created four more chances, and did it all against Godzilla's spirit animal Kendall Waston. Adi has turned into a straightaway in terms of his development — he's figuring out more and more with each passing game. It's been a joy to watch.

And that's what the Timbers were in this game. A joy to watch. All the the doggedness that haunted Portland's play for so much of this season has evaporated and been replaced with a buzzing, flitting sense of purpose and enjoyment.

The Timbers started this game with speed, precision, and optimism — three things they couldn't or wouldn't have mustered given this position just a few months ago — and didn't look back. With Dairon Asprilla serving as a necessary upgrade over Lucas Melano, all eleven players earned their keep with vigor frequently approaching panache.

The pieces have been in place all year, but now they're finally clicking. Add in a defense that continues to swallow up attackers of repute — Rivero, Morales, and Techara on Sunday night — it's hard to see where Portland is going to be stopped.

The Whitecaps certainly didn't have what it took, confirming the doubt that was couched everywhere around the club this week. There's a reason the Timbers and their fans like coming to Vancouver so much — the city is beautiful, the people are wonderful, the stadium is hospitable, and the team is a lightweight.

Wherever you are, take a good look around and try to drink this playoff run in. If you didn't start to think something special was happening when the Timbers snapped out of their season-long funk and and bloodied LA last month, and if you remained unconvinced by that miraculous win in the Wild Card game, allow yourself to believe right now.

There is something very special going on. The Timbers have never had a team this good. The playoff run in 2013 was all about crazy mojo. This one is about Portland being MLS' best team. That's why the away locker-room after the game was sober and level-headed. This group thinks it can do everything. Now. This year.

FC Dallas, who vanquished the Seattle Sounders in a game approaching the levels of insanity seen two Thursdays ago at Providence Park, is up next. They'll get the Timbers in leg one without Valeri and the in-form Rodney Wallace, both of whom are suspended on yellow cards thanks to another laughable performance from once-respected match official Ismail Elfath, but they'll still get a Timbers team that knows there's no one it can't beat.

If anything, Vancouver was the easy part. Just before kickoff, BC Place was rocking. Then the game started, and Portland turned the lights out. The 'Caps, just like Seattle, are done. The Timbers, deservedly, are the last Cascadian team standing. More importantly, after almost nine months, it feels like the 2015 season is just getting started.