We led by 2 going into the 4th quarter but Dirk and Van Exel just killed us. I was so upset after that game. Took a couple days to shake it off. Such a fun series. Game 7 box score: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=230504006 Here's a run down of the whole series: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2003/series?series=pordal Check out our last playoff game at the Rose Garden; Dirk with only 4 points: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=230502022 And don't forget Bonzi Wells' record performance in Game 2: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=230423006 And here's our last playoff win vs Houston,back in 1995: http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199405030POR.html Great game by Rod Strickland. Lost the series in 4. Go Blazers
Van Exel was the guy who killed us in that series. We could live with Dirk and Nash, but Van Exel hit all the big shots. We couldn't stop him.
Yet another example of transparent manipulation by ref's to assure an outcome. We ruled that game until Sabas received a couple of quick absurd fouls to remove him from the game. Hopefully that doesn't occur in this series, but I'll be surprised if Houston is not given a great degree of help. Stern would rather please a few billion Chinese customers than a few hundred thousand Portland customers.
