The last time these two teams met the Blazers beat the Celtics in overtime. It looked for a while like they were going to get another nice win, this time at home, as the Blazers built up a big lead early. But the Celtics, number two in the East, have a lot of heart and they rallied past our team and dished out a demoralizing 120-111 loss.

There were a surprising number of Celtic fans present in the Moda Center for this game, large swaths of green all cheering at the wrong times. Boston is a long way from here so I assumed most of them weren't actual Bostonians on a road trip. Winning teams tend to attract bandwagon fans, I guess, and the Celtics' spark plug point guard Isaiah Thomas is quickly becoming a national celebrity for good reason. He's a very exciting player and he didn't disappoint here in Portland, scoring 32 points on the night. In the picture below you'll see the 5 foot 9 inch guard taking it up strong against 7 foot 1 inch Meyers Leonard. Time and time again the speedy Thomas managed either draw fouls and slip shots over and between befuddled taller players.

The first half went well for the Blazers up until the final two minutes. They dominated the shorthanded Celtics and led by as many as 17. But then Thomas and company came roaring back and closed the gap to six before the break. Things felt tense during halftime as we all wondered if our team could hold onto their diminishing lead. Here's my survey of fan outfits in the hallways:

Cool kid:

Spunky couple:

They've got spirit!

I thought these two were Celtics fans, on account of the green, but it turned out it was the anniversary of their pal's maryjane dispensary and they were all celebrating at the game.

See, this is the back of the shirt:

Here's one of the many Celtics fans present at the game. This guy is from Seattle and said he likes the Celtics "because of Larry Bird."

Well, that question about whether the Blazers could hold onto their lead in the second half? It was answered quickly in the third quarter. They couldn't. The third quarter saw the Celtics surging into the lead and while the Blazers kept it close, it was always a game of catch-up from then on. Al Farouq Aminu had what coach Stotts later called "his best game of the season", scoring 26 points off the bench, but that wasn't enough the bring the Blazers back into this game. The Blazers missed the services of former Celtic Evan Turner, who watched from the sidelines, out for 5-6 weeks with a broken hand:

The fourth quarter used to be known as "Dame Time" at Blazers games, but the truth these days is it more rightfully belongs to other players. CJ stepped up against Dallas in the last game, but on this night it was all Isaiah Thomas. Thomas is now the highest fourth quarter scorer in the whole league and he led everyone with 14 in the crucial final period. Disappointed fans made for exits with 2 minutes left as the Celtics lead ballooned over 10 points. It was another tough loss for our home team.

Afterwards things were quiet in the Blazer locker room. Lillard gave a thoughtful interview praising the hustle of Celtic Marcus Smart in particular. Aminu said it felt good to have a breakout game, but would have preferred to see his team win. Here he is looking glum about his best game of the year.

It was such a somber scene that I decided to check out things in the visiting locker room where the mood was markedly more cheery. I'd never been in the visiting locker room before and it worth noting that it's not nearly as nice as the Blazers' facility. I guess this makes sense. Isaiah Thomas was surrounded by reporters, good-naturedly answering all of their questions. It's hard not to like the guy, to be honest, drafted dead last in his class, constantly underestimated, and now he's a bonafide star. It's just too bad he plays for the other team.