Blazers strike Golden State

March 26, 2012, 12:28 pm

The Blazers came into the game tonight after a tough loss at the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.  Portland would get to see the newest piece of the team, JJ Hickson, for the first time at home.  Hickson joined the team in LA after the Blazers claimed him off the waiver wire.  Hickson came into the game late in the first frame and scored a minute later.  The Blazers were hot beyond the arch early as Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum, and Raymond Felton each added a tray.  Portland trailed 27-26 going into the 2nd quarter.

The 2nd quarter for the Blazers was downright bad.  Portland only managed to score fourteen points and had scoring droughts over  five and three minutes respectively.  The lone highlight was the two 3 pointers by Luke Babbitt.   Portland went into the break down seven, 47-40.

The 3rd quarter was as bad for Golden State as the 2nd was for the Blazers.  The Warriors were only able to muster sixteen points, as Portland got hot and dropped twenty-nine points behind some impressive shooting by Raymond Felton.  Felton had ten of his twenty-four in the quarter.  Portland would go to the 4th quarter with a six point lead, 69-63.

The 4th quarter early was a story of runs by both teams.  Golden State went on an eight point run to go up 77-72.  Portland responded with an eight point run of their own.  With five minutes remaining, Raymond Felton would hit a three to even the score at 77.  Following back to back 3’s by Brandon Rush, it was Raymond who hit a big shot to tie the game at 85. LaMarcus would score the last four of the last five points for Portland as they hold off Golden State and win 90-87.  Portland is now at 23-26 on the season and sitting three games out of the last playoff spot in the west.

The Blazers welcome in the best in the west, the Oklahoma City Thunder this Tuesday night at the Rose Garden.  You can catch all the action right here starting at 6:05pm.

Wheels and Tone catch up with interim Head Coach Kaleb Canales after the win.

On the Morning Sports Page, Chad Doing talked with Antonio Harvey about the Blazers new defensive mantra and state of mind instituted by Coach K, one that the team is still looking to internalize.