(Photo by Troy Wayryren/USA TODAY Sports Images)

Portland did the unthinkable.

The Portland Trail Blazers were still on shaky ground even though the Los Angeles Clippers were getting depleted by injuries as the days went by. The most obvious ones being devastating injuries to Blake Griffin and Chris Paul who serve as the Clippers’ one-two punch.

Despite all the aspects going wrong for the Clippers, both games five and six proved to be boxing matches and in more ways than one.

In a similar fashion as in game five, the Blazers pulled away late in the fourth quarter and with three made clutch free-throws from Mason Plumlee, Portland punched their ticket to the second with a victory over the Clippers 106-103. The Blazers win four in a row and the series 4-2.

With an ever-changing line-up and unknown players making things happen on the court, the Blazers had a difficult time zeroing in on the adjustments they needed to make. Clippers head coach Doc Rivers elected to start Jeff Green in place of Paul Pierce and attempted to use different styles and plays to throw the Blazers off for long enough.

For most of this game, that was the case. For a game six in the Moda Center, the Blazers looked out of sorts and were focusing more on schemes rather than making the gut decision. There were sequences when the game was much more feel-flowing and the Blazers dominated those sections. But, the moment the game switched back to half-court offenses, Portland struggled mightily to get a shot off.

Give credit to the undermanned Clippers who not only scrounged together a line-up, but Austin Rivers, who got elbowed in the eye by Al-Farouq Aminu in the first quarter, came back out with 11 stitches in his left eye and continued to play through it. He finished with 21 points on 8-of-19 shooting, 1-of-6 from three with six rebounds, eight assists and one steal.

Heart is the word to describe the Clippers as each of their players played like there were no restraints. J.J. Redick, still dealing with a sore heel, scored 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting, 1-of-2 from three. Jamal Crawford, coming off the bench in this game, was the primary scoring option and he played like it. He finished with 32 points on 10-of-25 shooting, 0-for-3 from three.

Not to mention DeAndre Jordan, who tweaked his ankle in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, finished with 15 points and 20 rebounds (eight offensive).

This certainly does not seem like a team reeling from injuries. In fact, it looks like a team that could force a game seven back in Los Angeles and it was close.

Following a similar script to game five, the Blazers and Clippers went back-and-forth trading leads in the first half. There were nine lead changes in the first half and none of the leads were bigger than five. The Blazers took a two-point lead into the locker room as Portland capitalized on second-chance opportunities scoring 15 points in the half compared to Los Angeles’ zero.

It was expected that Portland would come out swinging in the third quarter as the urgency would begin to show. However, it was the exact opposite. While the Blazers shot 56 percent from the field and 70 percent from three, it kept them still sniffing at the Clippers and what was a major advantage for the Blazers swung quickly as the Clippers scored 13 points on second chance opportunities and had six offensive rebounds to Portland’s one.

It was the hustle points and the rebounding that killed Portland, but again no lead got higher than five as both teams seemed to wake up at the right moment. When was the inevitable Portland surge? What is going to happen? For a game six, these Blazers were playing effectively, but defensively were sluggish and lethargic.

The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair as well, but Portland seemed to slowly inching their way forward. Crawford was being forced right and could no longer hit his touch mid-range jumpers that were falling as he went 1-of-9 in the quarter with just six points. Green and Rivers combined to go 2-of-7 from the field with five points.

Defense was the problem and defense was dealt with. The Blazers finally woke up and used that end to their advantage. This allowed C.J. McCollum to get loose, scoring nine points on 2-of-4 shooting, 2-of-2 from three.

However, the game was won at the foul line. After a massive three by McCollum to put the Blazers up by five with 2:15 remaining, it seemed like all was finally going Portland’s way. But, the Clippers had other ideas as they roared back, tying the game up at 103 with 0:32 remaining.

Plumlee was then fouled and sent to the line with 0:14 remaining to attempt two free throws. In a storybook sort of ending, Plumlee swished two free throws after starting the year not being a factor from the line.

Crawford would then miss the lay-up and Plumlee would nab the rebound, giving him an opportunity to seal the game.

He split a pair from the line, but the Clippers had no timeouts. So, with 1.5 remaining, Los Angeles was forced to run a play from the other end of the court for essentially a half-court shot. Rivers heaved a prayer from half-court, but he missed and as he collapsed to the floor, the Blazers could breathe a sigh of relief.

Damian Lillard finished with 28 points on 9-of-21 shooting, 4-of-9 from three with five rebounds, seven assists and one steal. Lillard was the only Blazer who had it going offensively in the first quarter, scoring 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

McCollum finished with 20 points of his own on 7-of-16 shooting, 2-of-3 from three with two rebounds, four assists and one steal.

Plumlee, who is the MVP of this series, notched another double-digit rebounding performance, finishing with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting with 14 rebounds and four assists, with two blocked shots. Mason’s performance was impressive and history-making in the Blazers’ organization.

What has been a season of proving people wrong and going beyond the predictions, this takes the cake. While the Blazers will now face the Golden State Warriors in the second round, there is a sense of accomplishment already knowing that despite the result of the next series, the Blazers did what they set out to do and it was a heck of an advertisement for free agents in the off-season.

The Blazers will not have much time to prepare as they tip-off game one against the Warriors on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. PST.

Stay tuned!