Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy (7) acknowledges the crowd after their win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 4 of their NBA Western Conference first round playoff series in Portland, Oregon, April 23, 2011. REUTERS/Steve Dipaola (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)
It’s never a good thing when people describe your knees as “bone on bone,” but that’s the case with Brandon Roy, and that makes what he did in Game 4 all that more amazing.
The Blazers trailed by 23 points (64-41) with 2:47 to play in the third quarter. Over the final 15 minutes, Portland outscored Dallas by a 43-18 margin, winning Game 4 by two, 84-82. And it was mostly due to Roy’s playmaking and shot-making.
He hit a three-pointer to close the third quarter, and then scored 18 points (on 8-for-10 shooting, including a backbreaking four-point play) to go along with four assists in the final period. He was involved in 30 of Portland’s final 38 points of the game, including a nine-foot driving bank shot with 0:39 to play that gave Portland the lead for good. It was truly a masterful performance from one of the bright young stars who will unfortunately never have the career he was supposed to have due to those balky knees.
The series is tied at 2-2 as it heads back to Dallas for Game 5 on Monday night. No word on whether or not Mark Cuban has come down from the ledge.
