Last Friday night, the Moda Center was alive. The defending NBA champs were in town and both teams were fresh coming off of the All-Star break. In the arena you could hardly tell if it was a Portland Trail Blazer or a Golden State Warriors home game. There were as many Steph Curry jerseys as there were Damian Lillard jerseys.
Despite being severe underdogs, the Blazers dominated the game from the beginning, showing that they could play with anybody in the league.
Lillard put on a show Friday night, almost like it was his chance to show he should have been in the All-Star game. There is no better stage than against the best team in the league and the reigning MVP. Lillard scored 51 points, had 7 assists and 6 steals. The Blazers beat the Warriors by 32.
But, overall, the players downplayed the win in the locker room. They were excited to have beating one of the best teams in the history of the NBA, they were all giving Lillard the credit he deserved, but they were already looking ahead to the match-up against Utah on Sunday.
Sunday, the Jazz came into Portland in a game that could ultimately decide who is in the playoffs come April. Before the season, the Jazz were seen as a team that had a young core that would compete for a playoff position in the Western Conference. The Blazers, not so much.
In what turned out to be a very up-and-down game for both teams, the Blazers walked away with the victory. It was a classic, hard-fought, divisional game.
After the game, CJ McCollum said, ““Based on where their positioning is right now and the playoffs, all that stuff, (beating Utah) was a lot more important than beating the Warriors.”
Before the Utah game Coach Terry Stotts said, “The tiebreak is at stake and we’re right next to each other in the standings and you don’t know how the next 27 games are going to pan out. I think the tendency is the closer you get to the end of the season, every game seems a little bit more important and if you’re playing a team right next to you, its added importance.”
The Utah win gave the Blazers the season series, and the first tie-breaker for the playoffs.
Thursday night, the Houston Rockets come into the Moda Center for a Nationally Televised game. Houston currently sits at 9th in the Western Conference, a half game back of the Jazz for the final playoff spot. The Rockets are also 2 games back of the Blazers.
Why Thursdays game is so important is for the same reason Sundays game against the Jazz was, with the win the Blazers would win the season series against the Rockets.
In the Western Conference, there are really 5 teams battling for the final 4 playoff spots. With a win Thusday night, the Blazers would own tie-breakers against two of those teams.
So when you flip on TNT Thursday night to watch Lillard and McCollum take on James Harden and Dwight Howard, just remember that a win is bigger than just a win.
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