Blazers End Road Trip In a Heated Battle with Milwaukee

The Blazers ended their four game road trip in Milwaukee on Saturday. Going into this game the Blazers were 1 - 2 on this road trip, so they were in a must-win situation in order to keep their conference stance and keep morale high.

Starters:
Brandon Roy
LaMarcus Aldridge
Steve Blake
Joel Pryzbilla
Martell Webster

Time for a tip of the hat to LaMarcus Aldridge. Coming into this game, LA had an extremely sore ankle (he twisted it in the previous game) and many were on edge wondering if he would have to opt out of this game giving us a healthy bench of 8 but he pushed through and had one hell of game. Aldridge tallied a season high 31 points, and 16 rebounds in 52 minutes of play. LA was fantastic in this game. He really stepped his game up and helped to keep the team afloat throughout 4 quarters and 2 overtimes. Brandon Roy notched 23 rebounds, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Once again Roy took it upon himself to fight through to the end of this game, making huge baskets at times when the Blazers needed it most. Martell Webster also got on a hot streak and tallied 16 points and 4 rebounds and a crazy four point play. I've been careful to stay out of the Bayless, Blake and Miller drama but I just have one thing to say:

Jerryd Bayless - about 18 minutes of play - 9 points, 3 rebounds - +5 - 3/6 from the field
Steve Blake - about 42 minutes of play - 7 points, 5 rebounds - -8 - 3/10 from the field

I think the numbers speak for themselves.

The Blazers played well in this game despite a slow start. The Blazers had the lead for the first half and in that half the young Buck, Brandon Jennings was non-existent. He didn't shoot, he never scored. The second half was another story. Jennings came rocketing out of the gate and helped the Bucks tie the game up. Andrew Bogut thought he had a buzzer beating, game winning tip in at the end of the fourth but he clearly touched the ball after the shot clock expired so into overtime we go.  I'll say it again, I won't ever completely blame the outcome of a game on the referees but in this case, I think all those who witnessed this game can say that the refs made a game changing call. The Bucks had possession, they missed the basket, LaMarcus and Mbah a Moute went up for the rebound, LMA had it in his hands and Mbah a Moute clearly pushed it out of his hands which initially resulted in a Bucks turnover, Portland ball. The refs went to review the play and ended up changing the call after several minutes of review. Good call? I think not.


Despite the Blazers energy and push throughout this battle, Milwaukee ended up winning 108 - 101.

Portland next hosts former teammate, Sergio Rodriguez and his Sacramento Kings tonight at 7 PM PST. The game will be aired on KGW with pre-game at 6:30 PM. This also means you can purchase the game  to view it online if you won't be near a TV, check out info for that HERE.

Due to a mountain of work with little time before the game, there are no keys tonight, just some series notes:

•  The Trail Blazers swept Sacramento, 3-0, in last year’s series for the first time since posting a 4-0 win over the Kings in 1999-2000.
•  Portland outscored Sacramento, 105.7-87.7, in three wins a season ago. The Trail Blazers shot 45.6% from the field while holding
the Kings to a 42.7% clip.
•  The Trail Blazers outrebounded Sacramento, 145-99, in three games last year, including a 50-25 edge on the offensive glass that
led to a 53-14 advantage in second-chance scoring. Portland’s 59 rebounds vs. Sacramento on Dec. 16 marked a season best.


•  Sacramento Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie played for Portland from 1970-76, averaging 21.8 points per
game, including a team-best 24.8 points during the Trail Blazers’ inaugural campaign.

I will be at the game tonight, so I will do my best to twitter updates as often as possible with pictures when I can.

(Pictues: Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)