Game 2: Rockets @ Blazers

5:39 left in 1st quarter: Rockets 17 - Blazers 15.
Damn, refs are calling this one tight. Blazers fans are getting pissed and rowdy, which is ruining my vision of Portland being a calm, bike-friendly, pot-smoking, progressive city. C'mon Portlandians. For the sake of my sanity, please toke up and tone down a little bit.

Bad news - Deke just went down. Doesn't look pretty at all. Heading out on a stretcher, at which point Portland fans offer support via a standing ovation. My sanity is back, but my heart goes out to the heart and soul of our team. Wishing Deke the best.

Just like that, we return to live action.

End of 1st Quarter. Blazers 28 - Rockets 26.
With that, I'm done blogging about this particular game for a little while. Need to just sit back and enjoy this game after dealing with a fairly nasty cold virus for the last two days.

3:39 left in 2nd quarter: Rockets 48 - Blazers 44.
Wow, great 2nd quarter for Rockets so far. I haven't looked at a box score for exact minutes played, but it seems like we've been able to take a small lead with several starters (Yao, Scola, Battier, and Brooks) on the bench for most of the quarter. I love how Adelman is keeping Yao on the bench as long as possible, especially now that Deke is probably gone for the game. We need Yao to be as fresh as possible in second half.

Halftime. Blazers 53 - Rockets 51.
Yao scored 5 points in 12 minutes yet we stayed in the game on the backs of Artest (15 pts), Lowry (6 pts), and Wafer (12 pts). If we can reestablish post game with Yao, I really like our chances.
Not sure we can do anything differently to stop Aldridge. Just play him man-up with Scola, Hayes, or Landry and hope he cools down. Despite being a fellow Longhorn, I don't see him carrying a team for an entire game. Roy, on the other hand, can carry a team on his back, just not when Artest or Battier is chasing him around all game long.

End of 3rd quarter: Rockets 72 - Blazers 72
Hell fu*k yeah! Brooks hits a huge 3 followed by Artest slamming it home to send the game into the 4th quarter tied at 72. Still need to get Yao involved in this game, but what a way to end 3rd quarter. Let's do it!

Damn it, Rockets end up losing a tight one 107-103. Hopefully we can head back to Portland next week with a controlling 3-1 lead. Need sleep, peace.