As comebacks go, this one was epic.
In more ways than one.
Brandon Roy(notes) bounced back from a rough start to Portland's first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks with 24 points, and the Trail Blazers rallied from a 23-point third-quarter deficit to tie the series at two games apiece with a thrilling 84-82 victory over the Mavs on Saturday in Portland.
The series shifts back to Dallas for Game 5, which tips off at 8:30 p.m. EDT on Monday, April 25.
Portland's shooting was miserable in the third quarter, as the Blazers failed to hit a field goal until LaMarcus Aldridge(notes) connected on a hook shot with 1:31 left.
Portland trailed 67-44 after Peja Stojakovic's(notes) 3-pointer with 1:15 left in the third, but the Blazers cut the deficit to 18 entering the fourth, Roy's 3-pointer with 1 second left in the quarter making the score 67-49.
Roy was just getting started at that point.
The guard, who struggled mightily in the first two games of the series and voiced his frustration after playing less than eight minutes in Game 2, scored 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead Portland's comeback.
Roy scored Portland's final eight points of the game, converting a 4-point play after he was fouled by Shawn Marion(notes) on a 3-pointer with 1:06 remaining. He hit the free throw to tie the score at 82, and after Jason Terry(notes) missed a 3-point attempt at the other end, Roy drove to the hoop, pulled up over Marion and banked in a shot off the glass from just inside the free-throw line for the game-winning basket with 39.2 seconds left.
Jason Kidd(notes) and Terry each had 3-point attempts for Dallas in the final 30 seconds, Terry's shot at the buzzer just missing to preserve the win for Portland.
After Terry's miss, Roy was swarmed by his teammates and cheered loudly by the Rose Garden crowd. He's battled an up-and-down stretch since returning to the team on February 23 after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on both knees in January, his struggles coming to a head after Game 2 in Dallas, when Roy logged less than eight minutes of playing time and went 0-for-1 from the field and 0-for-2 from the free-throw line in the Mavericks' 101-89 victory.
A frustrated Roy said afterward he was hurt and disappointed over not being used more in the game. The next day, he apologized to teammates for putting himself ahead of the team, and Roy went out and scored 16 points in 24 minutes off the bench to help Portland win Game 3, 97-92.
If his performance in Game 3 seemed to be a comeback of sorts for Roy, it was nothing compared with what he did in Game 4.
Roy's late outburst Saturday helped the Blazers become just the third team since the shot clock was introduced in 1954 to win a playoff game after trailing by 18 points or more entering the fourth quarter.
The Blazers had hit just three field goals in the third quarter, as Dallas took what appeared to be an insurmountable lead by starting the second half with a 27-6 run. The Rose Garden crowd, loud and boisterous throughout the first half, was virtually silent at that point, but after missing their first 15 field-goal attempts and scoring just seven points in the first 10:30 of the quarter, the Blazers tallied seven more points in the final 1:30, showing a little bit of life heading into the fourth.
A 10-2 Portland run got the Blazers within nine at 75-66 with 5:39 remaining, and after a pair of Dirk Nowitzki(notes) free throws, Portland rattled off a 12-2 run to make it 80-78 Dallas with 1:36 left on a jump shot by Roy.
Marion scored at the other end to put the Mavericks back up by four at 82-78, then Roy scored the game's final six points to give Portland the victory.
Roy went 9-for-13 from the field, and also had four rebounds and five assists for the Blazers. After going a combined 1-for-8 from the field in the first two games of the series, Roy has hit 65 percent (15-for-23) from the field combined in Games 3 and 4.
Aldridge had 18 points, Andre Miller(notes) scored 14 and Gerald Wallace(notes) had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Nowitzki led Dallas with 20 points, as the Mavericks went 10-for-10 from the free-throw line compared with 22-for-23 by the Blazers. Terry had 13 points and Marion 12 for the Mavs.
(3) Dallas Mavericks vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers
(All times Eastern)
Game 1: Dallas 89, Portland 81
Game 2: Dallas 101, Portland 89
Game 3: Portland 97, Dallas 92
Game 4: Portland 84, Dallas 82
Game 5: Monday, April 25 — Portland at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. (NBA TV)
Game 6: Thursday, April 28 — Dallas at Portland, 10 p.m.
Game 7: Saturday, April 30 — Portland at Dallas*, TBD
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