At the end of three quarters I had no idea who would win. I just knew that regardless, this was one fucking great game to watch. It had all the intensity of a playoff game and both teams wanted it badly. It was certainly not flawless by either team, but games with this type of intensity seldom are. It was just plain fun to watch. Props to the refs too for not letting those whinny little bitches get to them. They listened to the complaints yet never became a factor in the game. No egos on this officiating team like some others.
Yep, this game was just as big for LA as it was for us; they badly want/need the top seed if they are serious about getting to and winning in the finals. Best Laker-Blazers game I've seen (intensity-wise) since the last time we faced them in the playoffs.
I'm still waiting for that Laker troll Toko to show his face in here, he was talking trash before and during the game. Funny how he's disappeared.
God damn, the Lakers are some fucking whiny-ass bitches to the refs. Gasol, Kobe, Odom, they were all complaining and making gestures after getting fouls called on them. I'm sure if Phil was there, he'd be working the refs, too. Gasol should have been T'ed up at least twice for throwing his hands in the air after a call on him he didn't agree with, or at least that's the rules that applies to everyone else other than the Lakers. Fuck the Lakers. Great win.
To be honest, I think the Blazers got a lot more calls than the Lakers did. The Box score backs that up: 31 LA fouls to 19 for Portland, and we almost doubled their free throw attempts: 20 for them, 37 for us. I'm sure there are some Laker fans out there who will point at this and cry about it, but it is not why they lost. They had their chances to win this game, but they blew it. Very intense game, you could tell both teams wanted it badly (understatement of the year). The good guys just were a little bit better on this night =)
Another great part of the game was Kobe going head to head against BROy. Again... fun to watch down the stretch.
That's not what I'm saying, Chad. I'm saying that the Lakers just seemed more interested in bitching to the refs about the calls being made on them rather than the fact that the Blazers seemed to be outplaying them most of the game. The Lakers, Gasol and Kobe especially, always had this reaction of OMG YOU ACTUALLY CALLED A FOUL ON ME FOR THAT??? Unprofessional.
Yes because the number of calls is indicative of how the refs are calling the game. In the second half, I saw Kobe get free throws on some phantom calls. Portland was the aggressor, so it's reasonable they got to the line more often.
This was basically a playoff game, in terms of how much each team wanted it, how hard they played and the atmosphere. Good experience for the team, to be in a game like this and win it.
of course in general the team that commits more fouls should be called for more fouls. and it seemed like that the lakers definitely committed more fouls tonight(and those numbers are skewed some anyway by the end of the game). i do feel that the blazers got more of the calls in their favor that really could have gone either way, but then again multiple laker players should have gotten technicals from their animated whining.
8 of those 37 FTA were in the last 42 seconds of the game when the Lakers were deliberately fouling to stop the clock. Take those away and the FTAs were 29 vs. 20. Take away Luke Walton's stoopid fouls and it was basically even. Laker fans have nothing to bitch about. Kobe got his usual gift calls for the 1st three quarters. Kobe misses - automatic foul. Somebody looks at Kobe wrong, automatic foul. In the 4th quarter the refs didn't bale him out when he was hoisting air balls. The Lakers, and their fans, are so used to having EVERY call go their way, that they have an ENORMOUS sense of entitlement. When they don't get EVERY call, they think they're getting screwed and whine about it to no end. Makes beating them all that much more fun. BNM
And great fun to be a part of. My kids had a blast. Lil' Bit and her new Batum sign got on the jumbotron again. My throat is still sore and my voice will probably be hoarse for the rest of the weekend. I wouldn't have it any other way. The Rose Garden was definitely rockin' last night - from start to finish. I remember other games where the crowd was just as loud at times (Game 6 against the Mavs in 2003, storming back from 12 down in the 2nd half to beat the 76ers to push the winning streak to 13 last season), but I think you'd have to go back a LONG way to find a time when it was that loud and that intense for the entire 4 quarters. BNM
I bet it was a bit loud after both Batum and Joel blocked Kobe at the rim. Those were great plays. Batum's especially.
I don't remember if I said this already, but I heard from people at the game that there were several "Beat LA" chants (including some before the teams were announced). They weren't the longest chants, but there were several. Apparently there were shots of Laker fans leaving the games to loud cheers too. Also there were "beat LA" and "Let's Go Blazer" chants on the lower-concourse a long time after the game. The guy I talked to said it was like the "good old days" where the crowd never had to be told to do something.
I re-watched the game, and honestly it wasn't one sided at all. It was pretty evenly called with some benefit to the home team more than the road team. The Lakers are simply used to special treatment and they think being outshot by 9 FTs on the road = a conspiracy against them. It is pretty ridiculous to me to EVER see a Laker fan complain about the refs, lol. There was still the 2 Kobe phantom fouls, and a lot of the Laker fouls were extremely obvious my mom could have called them... and then of course the refs missed calls for our Blazers at well, but I won't even go into that.
I get bashed for saying the refs were clearly in the Blazers favor but in this thread people agree cause it came out of a Blazers fans mouth...you stay classy San Diego
