2010 NBA Playoffs: Blazers block out the Suns in game 4
Brandon Roy checked into the game just before the 4-minute mark in the 1st quarter.
For those of us Seattle basketball fans who still haven’t fully recovered from our team being stolen, we should consider ourselves grateful for the proximity of Portland’s arena. A short 3-hour drive, convenient parking at the Lloyd Center and taking the road car (MAX) to the arena make going to Trailblazers game a very accessible task. Not an ideal situation, but with no alternative to watching live professional basketball, for those of us who still bleed green and gold (RIP Sonics) we’ll take what we can get. I was lucky enough to land a pair of tickets to a first round playoff game this past weekend.
The Phoenix Suns visited Rip City this past Saturday to take on the Trailblazers in game 4 of their first round playoff series. With the Suns leading the series 2-1, the Blazers were looking to tie it up on their home court with the return of their star to the lineup: Brandon Roy. Seattle native and UW alumnus, Roy, was just returning to the game after his knee surgery kept him out of the first 3 games of the series. Excited to make a mark on his first return game, Roy came out scoring 10 points in 27 minutes of play to help his team blaze past the Suns to win 96-87.
LaMarcus Aldridge leading Blazers to victory against Suns.
Though all the fans were excited to see Roy return, the real star of the game was their 24-year-old power forward, LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge made sure the Suns knew he was leading his team’s charge by scoring a career high 31 points and getting 11 rebounds. His double-double was exactly the momentum the team needed to keep the Suns at bay. Play after play, he seemed unstoppable and had the entire crowd, from the courtside to the nosebleeds, on their feet, screaming their heads off.
With the combination of Roy’s and Aldridge’s offensive effort, and centers Marcus Camby’s and Juwan Howard’s defensive effort, nothing seemed to get in the Blazers’ way of stealing game 4 and evening up the series. Not even the combined efforts of the Suns’ all-stars, Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash, was enough to slow down the Blazers. Stoudemire scored 26 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Nash had 15 points and 8 assists, but also turned the ball over 6 times, with a few late in the 4th that proved especially costly as the Blazers took control of the game.
The series returns to Phoenix today where the Suns will attempt to use their home court advantage to regain the series’ lead.
14 Responses to 2010 NBA Playoffs: Blazers block out the Suns in game 4
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JWG
April 26, 2010 at 10:35 am
Hey- Good article on the Suns/Blazers matchup. Looking forward to watching the rest of the series. Lucky you for being able to watch the game in Portland!
a sports fan
April 26, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Nice article. I like the original photography at the top of the page (roy’s face on screen).
Sonics4Life
April 26, 2010 at 3:54 pm
Nice to see the TrailBlazers win. No matter how long we here in Seattle are without a team I will never change my green and gold for the red and black of Portland. The NBA will never be the same to me, without the Sonics.
chica
April 26, 2010 at 4:50 pm
Awesome article! totally felt like i was at the game experiencing the thrills that the players bring!!
kvn
April 26, 2010 at 6:21 pm
playoff games are always crazy!
sugarcube
April 26, 2010 at 9:47 pm
Great summary, makes me want to go to a game!
kitty ramdas
April 27, 2010 at 12:48 am
hey karan, didn’t know u had got into sports journalism. Nice article.
noreen
April 27, 2010 at 3:08 pm
I don’t even watch basketball and I thorougly enjoyed this article…nice job!! Way to explain all the background info so people like me can understand the relevance of Brandon Roy’s stats :]
MS
April 27, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Wow this sounds like such a fun game! Good article
Rachel
April 27, 2010 at 3:47 pm
Great article!
I felt the excitement through your words!! Great work, you have a great future in sports journalism.
Andy Nguyen
April 27, 2010 at 7:26 pm
Lets go Portland! Lets go BRoy! Husky for Life!! NW basketball is where its at yall. I’m a little nervous about Roy playing so soon (8 days) after the surgery. I would rather have him sit out then risk a long-term injury.
Alyssa
April 29, 2010 at 10:08 am
Well written article Karan. Next time you get free tickets to Portland, feel free to invite the people who are still mourning the Sonics being gone
Glad you got to experience Portland PLayoffs!
Joe
April 29, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Great article, oh and for those who still want to see how people are protesting the OKC Thunder should go to
http://sonicsgate.org/blog/?p=12
JWG
November 3, 2010 at 8:02 am
I would like to see more sports coverage in the Husky Herald. Maybe a story on Jake Locker’s Heisman hopes being dashed? Or a story about ‘local’ boy done good Tim Lincecum?