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The Blazer’s 7 game losing streak has kinda felt like watching Sisyphus struggle with his boulder. Much like the Greek mythological story, the young Blazers have done everything they could to push a weighty rock of a win to the top of a monstrous hill, only to have it roll back down for another humiliating loss every time. That’s not to say they’ve been playing particularly poor, but they do occasionally look off balance like a team of Labrador puppies. The team has averaged about 13 turnovers a game during said losing streak. But despite their fumbling and bumbling, the Blazers have had moments of clarity. Sometimes they look like a confident team of seasoned, tenured veterans. Alas, that boulder has kept rolling back down the last 7 games, casting a dark shadow on the future of this season. After a brutal 0-4 road trip, a solid win at home would do the Blazers’ egos, and loyal fans, a lot of good.

Thankfully, the Blazers were able to confidently march off their home court tonight with a 102-91 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. So lets all take a deep breath…

MORE AFTER THE JUMP!

The first 30 seconds of the contest started out with the Clippers head coach Doc Rivers calling a full time out. Seemed he already had such a lengthy complaint to lay on the officials, that he needed a full 100 seconds to do it. Both teams played as a whole throughout the first quarter. Scoring was spread evenly in both camps. The only real flash came from the Clippers shuffling a few signature alley-oops into center DeAndre Jordan. A fierce drive by Blazers’ guard CJ McCollum, and a couple solid floaters from him and guard Damian Lillard in the last 2 minutes, helped bring the home team up to tie the Clips at 23.

Going into the second quarter, the Blazers only had 2 turnovers! Maybe they’d grown into their over-sized puppy paws? The Blazers’ Allen Crabbe fed a hungry Ed Davis for a solid dunk, and center Mason Plumlee also slammed a few through the ring as well. The Clippers were still spreading their scoring evenly throughout their team. Forward Blake Griffin was the only Clipper who finished the first half with double digits. It was still anybody’s game at the half, 48-47 Blazers.

Still nothing flashy from the Clippers to start the second half. Blazers were defending them high and tight. Not giving them much room to produce anything. Clipper’s guard Chris Paul had barely shown up to the game at all until he raised his forearm to Lillard with a blatant offensive foul. That’s when the Clips started getting frustrated and shove-y. The Blazers responded by going on a run that gave them a 10-point lead. So in response, the Clippers resorted to acrobatics to try and slow the game down and get some calls in their favor. Paul was sent into a barrel roll across the paint after being fouled be McCollum on one particular run. Lillard quickly grabbed Paul and played peacekeeper before anyone got too heated. The Blazers stayed up, and Doc Rivers continued to gesticulate and chew the official’s ears off until the final tick of the third.

Now, it was time for the dreaded fourth quarter. That final 12 minutes that the Blazers have had trouble finishing in 7 subsequent games. The Blazers come out wide-eyed and ready to seal the deal. The capacity crowd swelled. It felt like they wanted the win worse than the players on the court. Unfortunately for the fans and their blood pressure, the Clippers weren’t letting the Blazers walk out with a win.
Just before the 3-minute mark, with the score tied at 87, the clock suddenly struck Dame time. The letter O sunk back-to-back threes, bringing the Blazers’ lead up to 6.

At the 2-minute mark, the Blazers were up by 10. Is it really gonna happen? Is this that old familiar, rising, marvelous feeling of an impending victory? With just over a minute left, splash goes another long three from Dame, and that final nail drives home. The Clippers were sunk.

There was no doubt in anybody’s mind that The Portland Trailblazers were gonna be looking at a very hot and cold season. They’re quite young. Only two players on our roster have been in the NBA for more than 5 years. Also, less than half of the squad is returning from the previous year. Which means the team needs to feel each other out, and the coach needs to decide what combinations of bodies on the court works best. It’s gonna be a one game at a time season.

In his post-game press conference, Blazers’ head-coach Terry Stotts was succinct, and quite happy with the tonight’s outcome.

“It feels good to close out a game. We played a really solid game. Four quarters. It feels good to break a streak, and get back on track.”