13 Jan 11 Portland-Milwaukee: Rudy Fernandez Returns as Blazers Hold Off Bucks, 120-108

The photo is from Krizzikinz on Twitter, who happened to win courtside seats from the Tweet-up.Despite giving away much of a 33-point second half lead to the Bucks last night, Portland righted the ship in the fourth quarter, beating Milwaukee 120-108.On a night where Rudy Fernandez returned to a monstrous ovation, the Blazers led by as many as 33 points, and shot a ridiculous 60 percent from the field, this game was out of hand early in the first half.Both teams spent the first few minutes shaking a little rust, but before we knew it, Portland had built a Cleveland Browns jersey
31-16 first quarter lead and never looked back. Milwaukee's defense could not handle Brandon Roy and company. They allowed every Blazer player open looks without much resistance.By the time the end of the third quarter came around, it was almost as though the Blazers were up by too much. In the NBA, no lead is really safe. But many of the bench players were in to finish off the game and I blame a lot of a 4-5 minute stretch of no field goals on the "Chalupa chant."I mean seriously, when your team is up by at least 20, and the home team has 97 points, they are not going to come down and fire threes just to get Chalupas. The Chalupa cheers should come after 100, not before. Don't jinx them! I'd also like to see Blazer stats at home when the score is within one, two, or three of 100 points. I bet Portland is shooting 19 percent?Overall it was a solid victory and the rout that Portland needed. The Blazers haven't had an easy win in a while and this is just a warm-up for Orlando at home tomorrow and an East Coast road trip next week. Solid work all around for theDallas Cowboys jersey
Blazers.Box ScoreThe GoodAnytime a team shoots 60 percent from the floor that's a good thing. When you look at the box score , every starter literally shot 60 percent from the floor as well. It bodes well for Portland if every player is finding a rhythm offensively, because there will be games where other guys must step up and score with Brandon doubled or LaMarcus having an off night.Rudy Fernandez came back last night, and when he checked in, the crowd went ballistic. I'm pretty sure Portland loves Rudy. It's almost unsafe, I watched more than a few people completely lose their minds when they saw him. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he's more popular than Brandon Roy.Jeff Pendergraph continues to impress me. It's really amazing how he flawlessly transitioned into his rookie year, following hip surgery, and now just seems to fit in. From the pregame huddle dance to the toughness on the floor, Jeff is finding a nice niche on this team.Last night especially, we saw him get even more comfortable on this team. Defensively he flew around and had two blocked shots, while on offense he had a baseline fade-away jumper and even hit a deep, top-of-the-key jumper. The guy looks good, his shot feels good, I like his chances. Tremendous effort.The BadThe only bad came for Portland in the fourth quarter. With the game nearly out of reach, Milwaukee began to press Jerryd Bayless and Steve Blake with much success. Bayless seemed confused and disoriented by this tactic and it led to the minor meltdown in that final period.Fortunately, Denver Broncos jersey
Nate had enough and put Andre Miller back in. Miller broke the double-team every time, found the open man, and eventually put the game back out of reach. Miller proved once again his worth to the team last night. He is fitting in nicely. Naysayers need to pay attention to Andre, he's quietly doing everything right.The UglyWoah, look at this gem. A 2-for-1 in this department! Really though, from my vantage point last night, Andrew Bogut is HUGE. He looks like the giant from Princess Bride compared to the rest of the players on both teams. Fortunately Portland held him in check tonight.