Final: Nets Torch the Blazers, 111-93

The Blazers were led by LaMarcus Aldridge, scoring 24 points despite an early ankle injury. That was just about it.

First Quarter: Whelp. How do I put this? This was a cow pie of a quarter. The Blazers must have been mourning the end of the Miami Heat's winning streak, because they didn't bother stepping on the court. They were bullied by the Nets and especially Reggie Evans, quickly falling behind by double digits. They didn't even get a rebound for half the quarter. Plus, Aldridge injured his ankle in the process, heading to the locker room. Adding insult to injury (literally), ESPN couldn't even pronounce Meyers ("Miles") Leonard and Victor Claver's names properly. The stinkfest ended with the Nets leading by 20. Score: Nets 37, Blazers 17.

Entire Portland team: 3 rebs. Evans: 10 rebs
by bowdown

Second Quarter: I hope you closed your eyes. Because by the time the Blazers took another timeout, they were down 44-17. How bad did it get? On the next play, the Blazers let Kris Humphries have a dunk. With only 4 minutes gone in the quarter, the Nets had 50 points already. The lead peaked at 29 before the Blazers settled down, while ESPN (understandably) made fun of them a little. As the quarter wound down, they cut the deficit under 20 for a few seconds, before the Nets took care of business. The quarter ended with Lillard staying scoreless by missing two free throws. Score: Nets 64, Blazers 41

We will win 105-102, or lose 126-71.
by Chuck Nevitt

Third Quarter: Reggie Evans continued to carve up the Blazer defense, as the Nets repeatedly stopped the fans from cheering too loudly. The lead reached 30 late in the quarter, which is pretty amazing since the Blazers were shooting near 50% from the field. There wasn't much else to say about this brain-numbing quarter. Score: Nets 95, Blazers 69.

Instead of drafting promising NBA prospect Meyers Leonard, the Blazers accidentally selected his spastic, uncoordinated brother Miles Leonard. Easy mistake to make. Now we just have to hope the Blazers don’t target a Plumlee or a Zeller this summer.
by Roy Wonder

Fourth Quarter: Kudos to the Rose Garden faithful, who tried to will the Blazers into a comeback repeatedly all evening. But there would be no comeback tonight, as Lillard was the only starter to come out for the fourth. Shortly after, he was replaced by Will Barton. Then Nolan Smith. And what could you see in the background afterward? Nearly the entire crowd, still seated and rooting for the bench players. Kudos #2 to the crowd tonight. They were rewarded with an inspired run by the bench, sprinting to an 11-0 run and cutting the lead to 14, as the Nets suddenly looked a little nervous. Legendary former Blazer Head Coach PJ Carlesimo was forced to bring his starters back into the game. And they took care of business, as the fourth quarter slowly crawled to the inevitable ending.

Box score | Portland Trail Blazers tickets via TiqIQ

Stay tuned for more analysis from Blazer’s Edge later tonight. In the meantime, check out the upcoming Blazers schedule. -- Tim