The Trailblazers won their penultimate home game, downing the 14th place Memphis Grizzlies 113-98. In doing so they clinched a playoff spot for the fifth consecutive season. This game had a tinge of revenge because the Grizzlies had handed the Blazers a surprise loss last week in Memphis. The Blazers were without team captain Damian Lillard in that game though as he was busy witnessing the birth of his first child. With Lillard back on the court the outcome was hardly ever in doubt.
Memphis put up a fair fight, and ex-Oregon Duck Dillon Brooks led the charge with 28 points. The Blazer starters dominated, but sadly the second and third unit players had a hard time holding on to whatever lead the starters provided. Both Ed Davis and Maurice Harkless are injured and their presence is clearly missed. Davis is out 7-14 days with a sprained ankle. Harkless has a hurt knee. Fingers crossed they are both healthy come playoff time.
Want to see what the fans looked like a halftime? Read on!
The Blazers led 55-51 at the break. It should have been more, but Dillon Brooks hit a crazy half court bank shot at the buzzer. Here's what the fans looked like:
This couple was feeling the Easter love:
These guys are ready for the playoffs:
At nearly every Blazers game you will see a few fans wearing Sonics gear. This guy came down from Seattle from the game. He roots of the Blazers now but said he wanted to remind everyone that there once was a team in our neighbor city to the north :
Speaking of lost teams of the north, this guy was born in Vancouver BC and said his parents were Grizzly season ticket holders. He still roots for the Grizz even though they took off for Memphis. His girlfriend likes the Blazers:
These gals had the true Blazer spirit:
And this kid wins Best Sign:
The second half saw the Blazer starters come out with a vengeance and build a commanding 23 point lead. But once again the reserve unit came on and couldn't hold down the fort. The lead shrunk to 10 and the starters came back to mop up the mess. Meyers Leonard had an okay game in Ed Davis' place and it was nice to see Caleb Swanigan getting extended minutes, but this group needs to find its rhythm if the Blazers are going to make a strong push in the playoffs.
Fortunately, Evan Turner has been contributing in meaningful ways as a starter and Dame and CJ continue to confound opposing defenses with their two-pronged backcourt attack. The Blazers head out on one final road trip now, taking on Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Denver before their final regular season home game versus Utah on April 11th. If the Blazers win 3 of those 5 games, they will secure the 3rd seed in the playoffs, a significant accomplishment.
