Blazers split the weekend games

Houston snapped Portland's 12-game home winning streak on Friday night, due in large part to Portland's horrendous second half shooting(23%) and poor rebounding. The Blazers woeful shooting continued into the first half against the Hawks on Sunday, as their 37.5% shooting led to a 15-point halftime deficit. In the second half they came out shooting MUCH better, but Atlanta was on fire and at one point had extended their lead to 19 points. Every time Portland would start to cut into the lead, Atlanta would hit a tough shot to end the run and with less than 7 minutes left and down by 14, it was looking good for the Blazers who were on the verge of losing 3 straight for the first time since they lost 3 to end the month of November. But then the Blazers got hot and Brandon Roy tied the game at 93-93 and then forced Joe Johnson into a poor shot at the other end with just 8.3 seconds left. On the other end, Roy, who almost didn't play due to a fever, once again took the shot and was fouled on the miss. He left the Blazers in a dangerous spot by making only 1 of 2 free throws, but the Hawks missed their final shot to give the Blazers another tight win. The Blazers have played amazingly well in close games this year, going 6-0 in games decided by 3 points or less. This is especially impressive giving the youth of this team.