Jason Richardson kept finding himself alone behind the 3-point line, so he jacked up shot after shot from behind the arc. Richardson made eight 3-pointers and finished with a playoff career-high 42 points Thursday night in the Suns' 108-89 victory over the Trail Blazers, which gave Phoenix a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series. Richardson hit his first 3 late in the first half as the Suns built a lead that would extend to 31 points. He made 13-of-19 shots from the floor. The secret to Richardson's success? Portland was so occupied with containing the pick-and-roll combo of Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire that they kept leaving J-Rich open to contain those two with multiple defenders so Steve Nash just flitted the ball out to the perimeter every time.
Portland mounted a rally in the fourth quarter, closing within 91-80 after Rudy Fernandez hit three consecutive 3-pointers. But the burst came too late for the Blazers, who suffered a setback when starting forward Nicolas Batum aggravated a shoulder injury in the first half and did not return (the Blazers are either cursed or have the worst luck ever). Home-court advantage meant little for the Blazers. The red-clad Rose Garden fans even booed their team as the players left the court with a 66-37 deficit at the break. LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers with 17 points. Andre Miller, who scored 31 in Portland's Game 1 win, was off for the second straight game and finished with just 11. And the home team was dismal from the free throw line, making just 16-of-28 attempts. Stoudemire had 20 points for the Suns, while Nash finished with 13 points and 10 assists.
The Suns jumped on Portland early, quickly quieting the sellout crowd. Nash's left-handed layup midway through the first quarter put Phoenix in front 16-6. The Blazers were hampered by early fouls on both Fernandez and Aldridge. It didn't help when Jerryd Bayless was hit with a technical, and coach Nate McMillan had to signal his team to calm down. Richardson hit a 3-pointer and Leandro Barbosa made a layup to close out the first period with a 34-16 Suns lead. Richardson, who had 29 points in the Suns' Game 2 victory, had 21 in the first half alone while the Blazers unsuccessfully used second-year guard Bayless to defend him. Batum was questionable before the game after hurting his shoulder in the second half of Game 2 when he collided with Nash. But he started, and answered any questions about his shoulder with an early two-handed dunk. But late in the first half, Batum was fouled under the Blazers basket and appeared to re-injure himself. He quickly retreated to the locker room. The injury was of concern because Batum, the team's primary perimeter defender, had surgery on the shoulder just before the season opener and missed the first 45 games of the season.
The Blazers are already thin because of injuries. All-Star guard Brandon Roy tore the meniscus in his right knee and had arthroscopic surgery two days before the playoffs got under way. Centers Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla needed season-ending knee surgeries (twice for Przybilla who re-tore his knee after slipping in the shower) and Fernandez had midseason back troubles. Former forward Travis Outlaw, who was traded to the Clippers, sat out for a time with a foot injury. Roy missed more than a dozen games with a sore hamstring earlier this year before the slight meniscus tear was discovered. Even the coach, Nate McMillan, ruptured his right Achilles tendon earlier this season when he and assistant coach Monty Williams were filling in as practice players because the team didn’t have enough healthy bodies to play five-on-five. In all, 13 Blazers missed a combined 311 regular-season games, second only to the Warriors this season and somehow miraculously still made the playoffs in the Western Conference no less. Only Miller and forward Martell Webster played in all 82 games. No team can ever use injuries as an excuse ever again for underperforming after what the Blazers have been through this year (I'm looking at you Raptors). Game 4 is Saturday at Portland.
Peace and Much Love To Ya :)
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