Win Over Spurs May Be Spark For Blazers (Columbian)

[ABM]

From: Brian Hendrickson - The Columbian

Sometimes, it really only takes one game to change everything.

Just look at the Portland Trail Blazers’ last-second win at Memphis early last season. The Blazers never looked the same after that Travis Outlaw bank shot pulled out what could have been a devastating fifth straight loss. But thirteen consecutive wins later, Portland was involved in playoff discussions and taking aim at goals that previously sounded foolish.

People forget that Portland had won just once in nearly three weeks before that victory. They forget that the Blazers blew a 25-point lead in Philadelphia.

Nobody recalls the 19-point rout in Washington that followed, or the nine-point loss to an awful Charlotte Bobcats squad. And who remembers that the win over the Grizzlies was preceded by a 21-point blowout in San Antonio the night before?

Nobody remembers, because that one win in Memphis changed everything.

And you have to wonder now if Wednesday’s win in San Antonio can do the same............

.......................Wednesday’s win may have changed everything, because it held so much meaning.

Portland had not won in San Antonio since 2002, but won this time going away by 12 points. Slow starts had been the calling card of their road losses all year, but was a minor bump on Wednesday.

And the Spurs had been arguably Portland’s greatest nemesis when the season started, having won 12 straight in the series and 19 of the last 20. But Portland now has taken the season series for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.

Think of the confidence that win must have generated. And if the Blazers can carry over that confidence and mental focus, it just might become another defining moment — just like the win at Memphis last year.

Remember, sometimes it only takes one.

 

[boatsandstars]

What a great game to watch. I hope it continues and I'm excited to see my Blazers back in the playoffs!

 

[maxiep]

Brian Hendrickson is the best beat writer covering the team. The O should let Canzano go to a larger market better suited for his ego, let Quick be the opinion writer he's always wanted to be and hire Hendrickson from the Columbian.

 

[maxiep]

I'm as interested in the Spurs' reaction as the Blazers'. There are some games that really send you into a tailspin, ones that expose a flaw that can't be fixed. I guarantee you there were six other Western Conference coaches who told their video guys to break down that game to figure out what Portland did to SA.