Game Time: Detroit vs Portland

Portland begin their five game East Coast road trip tonight. They’ll be facing Detroit, New York, Washington, Boston, and the Toronto Raptors. Detroit will pose a good test for the young Blazers.

Detroit have comfortably beaten their last two opponents, New York and Milwaukee, after an embarrassing display that saw the Minnesota Timberwolves walloping them by 26 points on their home court.

[Edit: Dang it. I got the start time wrong. I thought it was 3:30 Eastern, it was actually three o'clock. Blazers ahead 18-9]

First Quarter

• Three minutes left to play in the first quarter
• 25-11 Portland ahead as we come back from a timeout
• Portland post up Aldridge on the left block, he takes a bounce, little tentative, passes out, jumper from the top of the key, misses
• Amir Johnson called for an offensive foul, turnover
• They’re showing some Walter Herrmann clips from the other night. He hit 5-6 from downtown for 17 points
• Fastbreak Detroit, Stuckey has options on either wing, screws up the pass, turnover. Portland ball.
• Foul on Amir Johnson off the ball defensively, that’s two in about 30 seconds.
• Rudy gets a good look after coming off a screen off the elbow, 19 footer top of the key, misses. Offensive rebound Portland, they reset their offense but turn it over later in the possession.
• Przybilla with a big block on Maxiell’s attempted dunk. Great help D from Joel.
• Frye misses a wide open jumper on the left wing
• Walter Herrmann from downtown, side iron, bounces down hard off a Portland player and ends up out of bounds, it’ll stay Detroit ball. They miss again, another odd rebound, Stuckey tries to track it down but steps out of bounds while trying to save it.
• Stuckey pokes Sergio’s dribble away, Maxiell gets to the loose ball, Stuckey leaked out, slam dunk. That’s the first basket scored by either team since I tuned in.
• 25-13 Portland
• Portland turn it over again on the next possession. Inbounds to Stuckey, he has a little under three seconds to get it up court and get a shot, a running three pointer, brick.

Second Quarter

• They’re showing some highlights from the first quarter, appearantly Aldridge had a huge first quarter. He hit 6-8 shots for 13 points in 10 minutes. He hit a bunch of jumpers and got a lot of touches in the post.
• Przybilla’s last 6 games he has taken 18 shots from the field, and made 17 of them. He is giving 7.5ppg and 9rpg off the bench.
• Stuckey beats his man off the bounce, gets to the rim, has his shot altered, miss, foul on the deck. Sideline inbounds, Stuckey again beats his man off the bounce, takes it hard to the rim, Przybilla and Outlaw both go up and block the shot, Portland don’t get the loose ball, Stuckey hustles, goes back to the rim, fouled, two FTs, misses the first, misses the second.
• 25-14 Portland lead with 11 minutes to play in the second quarter
• Outlaw misses a face up jumper over Herrmann on the left wing from 18 feet
• Przybilla with a defensive rebound
• Channing Frye with an excellent pass out of a crowd to Rudy, he saw him but couldn’t get an angle, turned his back to Rudy, created a tiny bit of space and then swung the ball up to the open Rudy Fernandez for a three pointer at the top of the key
• Detroit score again inside but Frye leaks out and gets a layup before Detroit’s defense gets back.
• Herrmann hits a triple, no sorry, he was just inside the line so it’s a long two
• Rodriguez draws the foul on Stuckey on his dribble penetration
• 30-18 as Rodriguez misses both FTs
• Stuckey takes it to the rim again, Przybilla blocks him again. Third block? Fourth block? Stuckey isn’t getting discouraged, but he isn’t finding a way to get a bucket either.
• Stuckey posts up Sergio, ball fake over Sergio’s head, Sergio falls for it, turns his head, Stuckey blows by him, fouled on the driving layup. Bad defense by Sergio.
• Three minutes into the second quarter
• Timeout
• Pistons backcourt pressure causing the Blazers some difficulty. Frye being used to pass it up court.
• Blazers move the ball beautifully to get Blake a great look from downtown, misses, offensive rebound, Outlaw a one dribble pull up J from 20 feet on the right wing, miss.
• Nice pick and roll between Stuckey and Amir, layup
• 30-22 Portland
• Detroit on a 6-0 run
• Amir picks up his third foul
• Aldridge and Oden re-enter the fray
• Stuckey blocks Blake, brings it up court, stops, has a look, sees Rasheed trail the play, finds him, three pointer good.
• Oden misses the hook shot. Good defense by Kwame Brown.
• The Pistons’ second unit’s defense has sparked this comeback.
• Stuckey dancing his way to the rim for a layup
• 11-0 Pistons run
• The Detroit crowd is pumped
• Aldridge posting Rasheed, doubled, Blazers make three passes around the perimeter, good look for Roy out of the corner, he misses the three, Oden rebounds, no loose ball foul. Kwame gets to FTs, big shots for the Pistons momentum right here, Kwame makes both.
• 30-29 Blazers
• Roy with a nice up and under but his layu prolls off the rim
• Kwame cuts across the paint, Stuckey spots him, layup. Pistons take the lead.
• Detroit lead 14-12 on points in the paint
• We just passed the halfway point in the first quarter
• Defensive three second call, Blake gets the tech FT, hits it.
• Tie game 31-31
• Pistons were on a 15-0 run up until that point.
• Roy posting up Afflalo, turnaround J, misses, rebound Batum, misses the hook, rebound again, reset, Roy has the mismatch, gets the ball back on the left wing, blows by Herrmann, layup is good.
• Afflalo fouls Roy 20 feet from the rim
• Timeout Detroit
• Stuckey comes out of the game after inspiring the Pistons run
• Blake nails a step back J over Iverson, a 23 footer. He had to take that to beat the shot clock. Good D by Detroit.
• Prince doing a beautiful job backing down Roy, drop step, layup
• Aldridge with the turnaround out of the low post, misses, rebound ran down by Batum. Roy runs the pick and pop with Aldridge, doubled, passes it back to Aldridge, Rip starts to rotate over, Aldridge passes it to Batum, Batum decides against the three and drives hard down the baseline and puts down a dunk, missed the dunk, rebound Oden, fouled on the putback, hits two FTs
• 37-33 Portland
• 3:30 to play in the first half
• Tayshaun dribbles around for a long time and hoists a bad shot, misses
• Roy probing doubled, throws a head fake, Kwame runs him over, two FTs coming, Roy makes them. He has 9 points.
• 9-2 Portland run after that 15-0 Pistons run
• Tayshaun almost turns it over when dribbling at the top of the key, a mismatch happend off the ball, now he’s lost his dribble he’s noticed, he posts up Rip on Blake, Rip draws the foul. Rip makes two at the line.
• Roy with the penetration, he leaves it for Przybilla after drawing the help, slam dunk
• Nice pass inside to Kwame who hits the easy shot inside
• Aldridge goes to set a screen, defense cheats, he cuts to the basket, layup
• Iverson makes a poor drive, then decides to pick up his dribble, he’s lost with nowhere to go. Finally get’s rid of it, Rip bails him out with a great cut and a tough leaner.
• Timeout Portland, 20 second timeout
• 1:30 to play
• 43-39 Blazers lead
• Aldridge knocks down a jumper, Rasheed returns the favour with a three pointer.
• Crowd into this game
• Rudy drive and kick to Sergio, three pointer left wing, hits it
• 30 seconds to play
• Tayshaun can’t get Rip the ball, he’s run off two screens now, finally gets it, Rip curls on the catch, takes it to the rim, layup altered by Przybilla, Rip misses.
• Sergio has it, holding it for the final shot, drives into the paint, hits the runner after a friendly roll

Halftime

• Portland ahead 50-42
• Points in the paint is even at 18

Normally I do halftime stats, but I forgot. Out of rhythm today folks.

Third Quarter

• Roy comes off an Oden screen, passes it to the wing, didn’t create anything, Blake has to force it at the buzzer, misses badly.
• Rip misses, odd rebound bounces out to the corner, Tayshaun runs it down but can’t save it
• Oden posts up inside, double comes, passes out to Blake, Blake knifes through the paint and hits the running layup. Bad help defense there, Blake had an open lane from three to the rim when the other three Blazers where all pretty much standing in the same post so it’s not like they couldn’t send some help over.
• Portland get another bucket inside off of penetration
• Tayshaun with the dribble pull up J from the left elbow, hits it
• Blazers get into their offense quickly, Oden deep position, gets the pass, dunks it hard on Kwame’s head.
• Iverson with the running hook shot.
• Blazers lead 56-48
• Oden fumbles the ball on the way up, Blake created a dunk for the big man. Pity.
• Oden just pulled down his 10th rebound of the night
• Travel by Batum
• Three plus minutes into the third quarter
• Roy cheats over the top on a screen off the ball on the left wing, Rip gets an open layup.
• Blake hits a long two from the left corner
• Oden knocks Rip over trying to block his shot, Rip makes a pair at the line
• Aldridge’s rebound his back iron, long rebound, Pistons run out off the rebound, fastbreak, layup
• Timeout Portland
• Iverson misses in the lane, rebound Batum
• Rip Hamilton with a fantastic double team, he almost trips Aldridge, then traps him hard and makes his life miserable as he looks to get rid of it … great pass by Aldridge, missed jumper from the corner by his teammate, Aldridge pulls down the rebound and gets fouled inside. He makes two at the line.
• Tayshaun takes it to the rack, gets fouled by Aldridge, Oden blocks it from the weakside. First foul on Aldridge.
• Oden too far from the rim on the post, he passes out, comes up to set up a screen. Blazers aren’t looking at the clock, 24 second violation.
• 60-56 Portland lead
• Detroit’s defense has been very good here in the third
• Rasheed misses a three pointer left wing-ish
• Aldridge knocks down another jumper, this time off the dribble. He has 21 points
• 5 minutes to play in the third quarter
• Rasheed pushes Aldridge off the post easily there
• Nice passing by Portland at the end of that possession to get a good shot, their play prior to that was terrible, outlaw ends up with a three from the corner, hits it
• Great effort by Kwame, battling 2-3 Blazers for that rebound, tipping it three times to keep it alive, and saves it from the out of bounds. Portland get the loose ball but aren’t in control, turnover it over. Credit Kwame with that hustle play as he takes a seat
• Roy hits a pull up J off the dribble over Rip
• Portland are on a 7-0 run after Detroit cut it to 7
• Aldridge is 9-13 from the field and 3-3 from the line for his 21 points
• 67-56 Portland lead with 3:40 to play
• Rasheed posts up, passes out of the post, Stuckey hits the 18 footer
• Good trap in the backcourt, forced Blake to pass ahead to Oden who had to dribble across halfcourt. Portland a little out of shape after that backcourt pressure, never really get into their offense.
• Pistons with a small lineup on the perimeter with Iverson, Stuckey and Rip. Rasheed and Amir are the interior players. Very quick lineup here, we’ll see a lot of backcourt pressure and trapping defense.
• Stuckey turnover, palming the basketball.
• Blake misses from the corner, putback dunk in one motion by Aldridge, misses it, he tracks down the rebound off his own miss, passes out to Blake, stolen by Iverson but he’s going out of bounds, tries to throw it off Blake’s leg, Blake jumps out of the way, has the ball, Blake sets up the offense, calls a play, now he sees Iverson is on Przybilla, scraps the offense and gives his big man the ball, foul. Przybilla makes one of two
• Amir Johnson with a hustle basket inside
• Aldridge isolation on Rasheed, tries to create off the dribble, gives up the bad idea, out to Outlaw who turns it over on his own drive
• Stuckey leads the fastbreak, dribbles too far inside again and makes the passing angle difficult, turnover again. He’s blown a pair of fastbreak opportunities tonight
• Outlaw misses a jumper from the left corner, loose ball foul on Przybilla
• Final minute of the third
• Rip draws a foul on his aggressive drive, makes two at the line
• 68-62 Portland lead
• Outlaw dribbles it up against pressure, does decently well, but continues dribbling the ball after he gets over mid-court and two players trap him, he’s called for an over and back as he crosses midcourt trying to evade the defenders. Just pick up the ball and pass over the top of the smaller players. Aldridge should be the one at mid-court to pass ahead
• Rip nails a jumper to beat the buzzer

Fourth Quarter

• Portland lead 70-64
• It’s anybody’s game. Portland have been the better side tonight but it’s been close, and Detroit are playing very well.
• Detroit’s scrambling defense is bothering the Blazers
• Rudy gets off a three pointer, solid look, misses. Loose ball foul on Sergio
• Great effort by Amir Johnson as he chases down a loose long rebound, he reaches between two Blazers gets a touch on the ball that causes them to fumble it out of bounds. Credit Amir for saving that possession for Detroit. Baseline inbounds pass, Rip runs off a screen, makes the catch left wing, takes one dribble inwards and hits a leaner
• Brandon Roy makes two FTs after being fouled by Afflalo
• Sergio pressuring Stuckey, he’s doing a solid job. Over competitive right now? Wouldn’t consider it a strength of his, unusual to see it in a close game in the fourth after not seeing much earlier on when it’s not a strength of the player.
• Fernandez held and kicked by Rip off the ball, no call
• Lovely drive and kick by Sergio to Outlaw who popped out from the FT line to the top of the key and drained a triple
• Rasheed answers right back with a three pointer of his own, he has 11 points
• 74-73 Portland
• Rodriguez beats his man off the bounce, gets into the paint, runner, fouled. Two FTs, splits the pair.
• Amir Johnson offensive rebound, putback
• Rodriguez turns it over, Stuckey steals it, ahead to Afflalo, he’s fouled as he takes it to the rim
• Timeout
• Tie game 75-75 with just under 9 minutes to play
• Walter Herrmann says he misses Cheick Samb because he used to speak Spanish with him, now he has to work on his English
• Afflalo hits both and gives the Pistons their first lead since the second quarter
• The backcourt pressure is bothering the Blazers greatly. Their point guards are letting them down here.
• Arron has a breakaway layup, Roy trails and contests it, I think he got a touch to stop that layup, offensive rebound Amir, offensive rebound Afflalo, foul by Roy. Stuckey made the steal to start that possession.
• Pick and pop for Rasheed, three pointer misses, Rip gets the rebound. Pistons reset, Stuckey has it top of the key, Rip runs off an Amir screen on the left wing, catch and shoot from 18 feet off the elbow, misses it
• Roy fouled again by Afflalo. Afflalo has done a good job to keep him quiet.
• Roy beats Afflalo, passes out, Blazers swing it, Blake nails a three pointer and Portland has taken the lead back
• 78-77 Portland
• Great defense by Portland on that possession, stopped the Pistons from doing anything they wanted, Oden came out and doubled Stuckey on a high screen and roll and forced Stuckey into a fadeaway 30 footer. There were two Pistons inside and one close by for the offensive rebound with both Blazers bigs outside, guess who got the rebound? The one Blazers player that was around the rim. Great play by Batum to secure that rebound. He deserves a lot of praise for coming up with that, that’s a game winning type play. He doesn’t get that rebound, then Detroit get an easy basket and have all their momentum back. Now Portland get to build some momentum of their own.
• Nice pick and pop between Roy and Aldridge, he misses the 21 footer from the top of the key though
• Timeout
• Pistons replace Rasheed with Walter Herrmann. Amir Johnson is the center. Three perimeter players are small too. This is a quick lineup.
• Iverson knocks down a jumper have re-entering the game
• Drive and dump by Roy to Greg Oden, powerful slam. “Basket still shaking after that one” – says one Pistons commentator.
• Stuckey gets to the rim, fouled by Oden, his fourth foul. He gets two, makes one.
• Portland lead 82-80 with under six minutes to play
• Stat – Pistons are plus 21 when Stuckey is on the floor. He’s been fantastic tonight
• Herrmann on Roy defensively, mismatch, he dribbles inside from the top of the key, down to the FT line, pull up J, Herrmann hits him on the wrist, Roy knocks down the jumper and hits the FT.
• Offensive foul on Amir Johnson for an illegal screen, turnover. Stuckey moved too quickly before Amir had even come up top, nevermind setting the screen.
• Roy beats his man to the cup and lays it in
• Roy has 21 points
• Blazers lead by 7
• The score is 87-80 Blazers lead
• Rasheed into the lane, contested, misses, rebound Greg Oden
• Batum pump fakes, one dribble right from the corner, hits it from 20 feet. The same spot where he turned it over earlier in the quarter. Good confidence from the kid there.
• Wow …. oh my … Greg Oden with a vicious spiked block off the glass on Iverson’s runner, and he comes up with the loose ball. Big stop for Portland.
• Roy misses teh fallaway J over Afflalo at the shot clock buzzer
• Iverson drives, pump fakes a few times, shoots a 10 footer on the baseline, ball rolls all around the world and doesn’t fall. Unlucky. Blazers rebound.
• Aldridge drops a jumper on the other end. He now has 25 points and Portland are up by 11.
• 2:40 to play
• Portland ran that fastbreak poorly. Caught in two minds about whether to play the clock or get an easy hoop. They kept control of the ball though, and made some good decisions after reseting the offense, Roy penetrates and finds Oden inside, Oden fouled. Greg takes two FTs, makes two.
• Blazers lead 93-80
• Oden has 10 points and 13 rebounds
• Oh my, another great block by Oden on Rip’s layup. Great D by Oden to hedge and push Rip down the side, Rip finally turned the corner late but he didn’t have a good angle and Oden was able to stay in the play and block the shot. The ball goes out of bounds. Pistons inbounds it, can’t get a shot off before the shot clock, turnover.
• Timeout
• Great defense by Portland
• Portland lead 93-80
• Batum misses from the corner, Herrmann rebounds, pushes it upcourt, gets it to Stuckey, Stuckey quickly knifes into the lane and gets a layup plus a foul on Greg.
• 10 point game
• One minute forty seconds to play
• Blake milking the clock, now passes to Roy, Roy drives and passes it to Aldridge in the corner, misses … Pistons fastbreak, Rip gets a layup
• 8 point game
• One minute to play
• Roy slices his way into the paint, finds his man inside, Greg Oden fouled on the way up. Oden takes a lot of time before he goes up for shots around the rim, brings the ball down too low too often. Oden splits a pair
• 9 point game
• Stuckey dribbles up, can’t get anything quick, passes back to Herrmann, he launches a long three, misses, rebound Batum. Batum’s rebounding has been very valuable tonight for Portland
• Aldridge fouled, he makes two.
• Portland ahead 96-85 with 30 seconds to play. This is over.

Good win for Portland tonight

Tonight’s performance shows exactly why this Portland squad shouldn’t be written off because of their age. They don’t play like a young team and their players aren’t typical youngsters. This is a composed squad that plays excellent halfcourt basketball, they make good decision, don’t turn the ball over, and get good shots. They also have dominant big men who control the paint and the backboards. They can play against physical teams and beat up physical teams. This is not a typical young squad.