Brandon Roy leads Portland to a 2nd straight win over Dallas Mavericks, series tied at 2-2
Brandon Roy certainly knows how to back up his words. After expressing disappointment over his limited role in the first two away losses against the Dallas Mavericks in
the best of seven first round play-off series, Brandon Roy has set his home court alight. After knocking down the powerful Mavs 97-92 in the last game, on Saturday, Brandon Roy and company took on a 15-2 run late in the final period to hand over the Dallas
Mavericks another stunning loss, 84-82, at the Rose Garden, Portland.
Leading the Portland Trail Blazers and tying the series for his team at 2-2 was Roy who came off the bench to score game high 24 points.
The Trail Blazers were trailing 49-67 at the end of third quarter. However, keyed by Roy, they managed to shoot past the Mavs down the stretch, making it their franchise
best last quarter comeback. After missing 15 shots in the beginning of the third quarter, the final quarter resurgence seemed just like a dream to the Blazers. Spellbound by the victory and most importantly by the role he played in it, Roy, the Blazers 26-year-old
shooting guard said post game,
"It still doesn't feel real yet. Just an unbelievable game, the comeback. With everything I've been through this season, it all came into that moment there on the court,
when guys were grabbing me and cheering me on. It was real special."
Roy contributed 18 of his 24 points in the final quarter that also included four consecutive shots in the last 1:36, capped by a bank shot that raised the Blazers up, 84-82
with just 39.2 seconds left in game. His tenacious game was followed by LaMarcus Aldridge who clinched 18 points to go along with six rebounds in almost 47 minutes of action.
The Blazers took a free throw advantage over the Mavericks and outscored them by a margin of 22-10 on trips to the foul line.
Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki scored team high 20 points and pinned two three-pointers in 38 minutes. Shawn Marion scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the loss. Jason
Terry added 13 points off the bench and recorded a meagre 5-for-16 shooting from the field.
With just 1:16 left in third quarter and the Mavericks flying past the Blazers, 67-44, Aldridge pinned an alley oop layup and Roy posted a three-pointer to set the tone
for a better fourth quarter, 49-67. Portland played the final quarter as aggressively as they could, letting the opposition score just 15 points whereas they clinched 35 points in the same stanza. The Mavs missed eight shots in a row while the Trail Blazers
shot almost every shot that came along, breaking free of the trailing slump and finally taking the sizzling win at home.
Portland’s Coach Nate McMillan was full of praise for Roy who catapulted his team to the impressive victory. The coach appreciated the player by saying that they all knew
Roy was capable of doing what he did. He said that Roy played as the same old player that night. The coach also added that it was Roy who took the game on his shoulders and carried the team ahead, willing them to win. While talking about Roy’s fourth quarter
surge, the coach said, “There were possessions earlier where he was doing a good job of setting guys up and kicking it, but in the fourth quarter, he wasn't passing the ball. He was going to take the shot, and live with the result."
Kevin Love who received Kia NBA’s Most Improved Player of the Year award recently was also present to watch the game.
Mavericks host the next game of the round 1 of playoffs at the American Airlines Center, Dallas on Thursday, April 28th, 2011.
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