By: Jamal Smith Sports Editor
When the Portland Trail Blazers were down 0-2 in their best of seven first round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, all hope seemed to be lost. The young Blazer squad appeared to be outmatched and seemed to lack the weapons to defeat the Clippers in four out of their final five games of the Western Conference series.
While many fans and sports analysts considered the series all but over, the underdog Blazers saw it as an opportunity to prove the naysayers wrong yet again. History was also against the Blazers, as only two out of 53 squads since 2009 have ever come back from a 0-2 deficit.
In their first two games against the Clippers in Los Angeles, the Blazers were absolutely dominated in every facet of the game, losing both games by at least 20 points. After going down 0-2, the Blazers hoped that they could feed off the energy from the Rose City crowd and make the series interesting, and that they did.
In game three, Portland came out with a sense of urgency and defeated the Clippers 96-88.
Then in game four, the Blazers took care of business and came away victorious with an assist from Clipper’s All-Stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, who both had to leave the game with season-ending injuries. Paul fractured his hand and Griffin re-aggravated a quad injury that has plagued him all season long.
With the freak injuries to the Clippers’ best two players, Portland went from underdog to the favorite overnight. Being a favorite was an unfamiliar position for the Blazers who have embraced the underdog role all season long, which left many sports analysts wondering how each team would respond.
In game five back in L.A., the Clippers started the game with great energy, and outplayed the Blazers in the first half. However, the Clips ran out of gas and the Blazers took advantage and won the game 108-98.
With the advantage now going to the Blazers, Portland had a chance to finish off the fledgling Clippers back on their home court. Led by point guard Damian Lillard’s 28 points, the Blazers squeaked out a 106-103 victory taking the series 4-2, and the entire city of Portland celebrated as confetti fell from the ceiling of the Moda Center.
The Blazers will now play the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs. Golden State will be without their best player, Stephen Curry, who went out with a sprained knee in game four of the first round matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. Curry could come back as soon as May 9.
Portland has already defied expectations for the season. Although they are underdogs going into their matchup with Golden State, they are right where they want to be, so don’t be surprised if they find a way to shock the world yet again.
Contact the author at jsmith15@wou.edu or on Twitter @journalsportWOU.
