{"id":405679,"date":"2011-04-27T22:41:24","date_gmt":"2011-04-27T22:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/27\/blazers-face-game-6-elimination-by-mavs-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-04-27T22:41:24","modified_gmt":"2011-04-27T22:41:24","slug":"blazers-face-game-6-elimination-by-mavs-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/27\/blazers-face-game-6-elimination-by-mavs-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Blazers face Game 6 elimination by Mavs (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)\u2014If the Trail Blazers demonstrated anything this season, it\u2019s that they\u2019re not about to let a little challenge throw them off.<\/p>\n

Portland has become adept at surpassing expectations.<\/p>\n

But the ultimate test of the team\u2019s resolve will come Thursday night, when the Trail Blazers face elimination trailing 3-2 in their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you get in these loser-out games, sometimes everybody tries to do it all, and then you get out of character,\u201d guard Brandon Roy<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> said on Wednesday. \u201cSo the biggest thing tomorrow is that we stay in character and don\u2019t panic if they get up two points or we\u2019re up two. We need to play within our game plan like we\u2019ve done all season, and we can beat this team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps nothing demonstrates the Blazers\u2019 ability to deal with adversity more than their last win in the series. Down 67-44 in the third quarter, Roy led his team on a stunning comeback for an 84-82 Game 4 victory on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Roy, a three-time All-Star who had been troubled by his knees all season and came on as a reserve, finished with 24 points\u201418 in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

For Roy, there was satisfaction in the performance given what he had gone through.<\/p>\n

In early December, it became apparent that something was amiss for Roy, the face of the franchise. It was later learned that the cartilage in both of his knees was so depleted that he was nearly playing bone-on-bone.<\/p>\n

While the condition is something that will likely dog him for the rest of his career, Roy opted to have arthroscopic surgery on both knees in January. All told, he missed 35 regular-season games.<\/p>\n

When Roy returned from surgery, LaMarcus Aldridge<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> had taken over as the team\u2019s top playmaker, and second-year guard Wesley Matthews<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> had taken his spot in the starting rotation. Roy\u2019s minutes were tightly controlled off the bench.<\/p>\n

As they had with other key injuries\u2014most notably to centers Greg Oden<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Marcus Camby<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span>\u2014the Blazers picked themselves up and moved on. They made the necessarily adjustments, and helped themselves by adding forward Gerald Wallace<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> from Charlotte at the trade deadline, to wind up the sixth seed in the Western Conference.<\/p>\n

Dallas, the third seed, took control of the series with a 93-82 victory at American Airlines Center on Monday night in Game 5. The Mavs caught the Blazers off guard with the emergence of Tyson Chandler<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and by going to the zone.<\/p>\n

While the Mavericks have seen the steady play of Dirk Nowitzki<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> all series long, they\u2019ve also managed to compliment him with a different player each game, ranging from Jason Kidd<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> to Peja Stojakovic<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Jason Terry<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> and finally Chandler, who had 14 points and 20 rebounds in Game 5.<\/p>\n

The Mavericks are hoping to overcome their recent history of wilting in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Since the start of the 2006 NBA Finals\u2014which the Mavs lost in seven games to Miami after taking a 2-0 series lead\u2014Dallas has gone just 2-18 on the road in the postseason.<\/p>\n

Dallas has been eliminated in the first round in three of the past four seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know what we gotta do. We\u2019re a veteran team. If we don\u2019t have to play a Game 7, then we don\u2019t want to play a Game 7,\u201d forward Shawn Marion<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> said. \u201cThat\u2019s our mentality and that\u2019s what we gotta do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Blazers must improve in several areas\u2014and quick. They\u2019ve been unable to deal effectively with the Mavs\u2019 pick-and-roll. They\u2019ve sent Nowitzki to the free throw line too often. And, aside from Roy\u2019s big breakout, they\u2019ve seen too little noise from their own bench.<\/p>\n

Portland has never overcome a 3-2 deficit to win a playoff series, and the team has been unable to get beyond the first round for the previous two seasons.<\/p>\n

But they certainly have home court advantage.<\/p>\n

The Trail Blazers have won each time the Mavs have visited their building this season, twice in the regular season and twice so far in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Portland has won 12 of its last 13 at the Rose Garden. Overall against the Mavericks, the Blazers are 46-18 all-time in Portland, and 8-1 in playoff games.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s likely that all eyes Thursday will be on Roy, and whether he can stage another comeback\u2014this time not just to win a game, but to save a series.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s any secret that I\u2019ve got to play well. And not only play well, I\u2019ve got to be more aggressive,\u201d Roy said. \u201cWhen I\u2019m more aggressive it puts pressure on Dallas\u2019 defense to game plan and figure out how to stop me, and then I think it give other guys easier shots.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal tomorrow is to go all-out and be as aggressive as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Excerpt from:
\nBlazers face Game 6 elimination by Mavs (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PORTLAND, Ore. 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