Roy Returns, Ends Lakers Streak: Woohoo!

Brandon Roy taped the hell out of his ankle tonight and James Jones came back after missing a month of bodily healing to drop their rival Lakers. This game was absolutely huge for the young Blazers if they have any hopes of turning this season back around and making a push to the playoffs.

We've heard the conspiracy theories about Jones and the winning ways of Portland; well he may have just solidified that one in stone. The Blazers have been awful since he left with a mysteriously injured knee almost 30 days ago. What a welcome back this was for Roy and Jones.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Brandon Roy launched a rally for the Portland Trail Blazers' final 24 games.

He told his teammates: "Let's make a push, you guys!"

Portland responded with a 119-111 victory Friday night over the Los Angeles Lakers. Roy had 20 points and a career-high 12 assists after missing the previous two games with a sprained right ankle.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points for Portland, which snapped the Lakers' 10-game overall winning streak and seven-game streak on the road.

"We were having fun out there," Roy said, "and hopefully this confidence rolls over to the rest of the season."

Rest of the AP article here.

Trail Blazers end road trip with flop.

The Portland Trail Blazers were ousted by Jannero Pargo of the New Orleans Hornets last night. That’s right, Pargo, the back-up to MVP candidate Chris Paul. Pargo was hot all night dropping a season-high 24 points in a rout of the young Blazers.

Portland jumped out to an early lead looking to extend its fiery play as their 7 game road trip wound down and then everything went south in the 2nd quarter. The Hornets turned a 12-point deficit around within minutes and never looked back.

David West scored 22 points and CP3 added 18 point and 10 assists in a game needed to prove they belong with the elite of the west. The Hornets are for real people, and with Chris Paul at the helm, this ship won’t be sinking any time soon.

The Blazers on the other hand end a 7 game road trip in which they went a solid 3-4. They should stay positive after playing so many games in so few nights while actually coming away with a few wins. Most people had this road trip penciled in as the breaking point to the Blazers fast start. Well the young team held on and now heads back home for a long 7 game stretch.

Portland boasts an incredible 17-3 record at home, but should find themselves tested with the likes of Houston, Cleveland and Denver during this stand. Brandon Roy ended his road trip on a sour note with a measly 14 points; let’s hope he gets hot again in the Rose Garden!

Wade drops 20 in the 3rd; Blazers still romp!

The Portland Trail Blazers came into Miami half way through a 7 game east coast road swing and after dropping a tight one to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. Critics keep saying this Blazer hot streak will come to an end during this road trip but those youngsters just keep surprising all of them.

Tonight's game was a back and forth affair with Portland leading most of the way; they headed into half-time with a 9 point edge. The 3rd quarter however, belonged to Mr. Dwyane Wade. The guy went off and showed signs of the Wade of old. He put up an impressive 20 points in the quarter and rallied the Heat to a solid lead going into the 4th.

The final period came and once again Brandon "R.O.Y." Roy arrived. How clutch has this sophomore been? Well, he's turned himself into one of the elite clutch players in the league in only his second professional season. Roy scored 16 in the quarter and even demanded to Blazer coach Nate McMillan that he wanted a piece of Wade defensively. So not only did Roy take over the game offensively, he also held Wade to just 2 points in the 4th and forced him into some very ugly shots down the stretch.

The game got close in the final 2 minutes with the Heat hitting a couple of quick threes but James Jones sealed the deal with a late three of his own and your Portland Trail Blazers tacked on another road win. Are you all still surprised?

12 a dozen, make it a Trail Blazer dozen!

They've done it! The Portland Trail Blazers have matched the second longest win streak in Blazer history at 12 wins in a row with what is currently the youngest team in the entire NBA. This is a pretty amazing feat coming from a team who was so fortunate to land the #1 draft pick in the NBA this off season only to watch that pick slip right out of their fingers and onto the injury report.

It has been a wild ride over the month of December with this young group of talent, but is this what we should expect from the rest of the season? The team is riding this unimaginable month with a 6 game home stand but will soon be followed up with a quite a challenging mid-season road trip. After Sunday's game against the Sixers, followed by a quickie on the road to Utah, the Blazers will take 9 of 14 games in January on the road in what should make or break their season.

I can say that I'm hoping for continued success and the sooner-than-later turn around of this historic franchise from the depths of "jail" back to the land of the "rip."

Tonight's BOX SCORE.