There was big news in Blazersland before this game even started. The Blazers had swapped centers with western conference rivals the Denver Nuggets, dealing away fan-favorite Mason "Plumdog Millionaire" Plumlee for a first round draft pick and a younger, larger, less experienced center named Jusuf Nurkic. So Plumlee was gone and Nurkic sat on the bench in street clothes, unable to play until the paperwork was finalized. Despite sad feelings at the loss of their pal Mason, the Blazers started off strong and looked to have this game under control. But then the Hawks came flying back and snatched a gutsy overtime win from the demoralized home team, 109-105.

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Courtesy Trail Blazers - Bruce Ely

Jusuf Nurkic, the newest Blazer, took a few questions from the media during warm-ups. We learned that he's known as "The Bosnian Beast" back in Denver. Asked about the nickname, Jusuf said, "They give it to me for some reason. I'm going to show them why." In case you're wondering, this is what our new starting center looks like. He stands 7 feet tall and weighs 280 pounds. Welcome to Portland, Jusuf!

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Courtesy Trail Blazers - Bruce Ely

As mentioned previously, the first half was a fairly strong one for the Blazers. They led by as many as 13, but in a pattern that has become all too familiar, they couldn't close things out and the Hawks crept back into it, narrowing the gap to 6 at the break. Here's a survey of the fans in the hallways during halftime:

Future Blazers fan!

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Son/Father:

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These dudes moved to Portland from Atlanta a few months ago. They said they root for the Blazers against any other team:

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Why was this guy wearing a Denver jersey? I wondered if it was on account of our new former-Nugget center, but he said "No, I'm just a Denver fan and wanted to show my pride."

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Fashionable ladies:

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As the second half got underway it became clear that the Blazers were really missing Plumlee's presence in the middle (or Nurkic's, for that matter). Second string center Meyers Leonard could not hold things down against old Blazer nemesis Dwight Howard and Noah Vonleh gathered several quick fouls on his way to fouling out later in the game. Ed Davis was the only bright spot in the Blazers front court, but his poor foul shooting would come back to haunt them in the end.

The fans really seem to be turning on Meyers Leonard at this point. There were audible boos when he missed two free throws in a row and folks shook their heads as he went 0-6 from the 3 point line. Here's a picture of Meyers making his only basket of the game:

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Courtesy Trail Blazers - Bruce Ely

One fan-made sign read, "Pluck the Hawks". That definitely didn't happen. The game became a sloppy nail-biter in the final minutes, with each team intentionally fouling the other team's worst free throw shooter. In Portland's case that was poor old Ed Davis, who missed 4 of 5 free throws down the stretch. In Atlanta's case it was Dwight Howard. Here we see CJ McCollum egging the crowd on to jeer Howard as he steps up to the line:

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Courtesy Trail Blazers - Bruce Ely

With roughly 26 seconds left on the clock the Blazers found themselves with the ball, up by two points. Normally this would be Lillardtime, but the ball went to CJ on this possession, a signal that times really are changing, and CJ missed a fadeaway jumper. Atlanta got the ball back with 2.2 seconds left and Paul Milsap managed to sink a runner at the buzzer to send things into overtime.

The Blazers came out blazing in OT, scoring the first 7 points, and the crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief as it seemed like this game wasn't going to get blown after all. But then it did. The Blazers went ice cold and Atlanta closed things out on a 12-2 run, shattering our dreams once again.

The Blazers had multiple chances to wrap this game up, including a heartbreaking possession in which Lillard drove to the basket and tripped with 12 seconds to go. Here's a look at that play unfolding:

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Courtesy Trail Blazers - Bruce Ely

Afterwards things were very quiet in the Blazers locker room. A win would have been a nice way to enter the post-Plumlee era, and this loss seems yet another sign that this season is being written off as a rebuilding year for our team. Ed Davis took questions from reporters while most of the other players cleared out as quickly as possible.

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Over in Atlanta's locker room things were loose and giddy. Up and coming star point guard Dennis Schroder changed into a wild gold outfit featuring some kind of animal tail hanging off his belt and played DJ with his personal stereo. Dwight Howard strolled in smiling and told him to turn it up. Everything's just a little more fun when you're winning, it seems.