The Houston Rockets versus the Portland Trail Blazers was pegged as one of the most exciting playoff series in the first round, not only for the story lines and drama off the court, but just how both teams are so similar in talent and style. To throw out some early stats for you, in the regular season the Blazers averaged 106.7 points and the Rockets averaged 107.7 points. The Blazers, being the number one rebounding team in the league, averaged 46.4 rebounds, while Houston averages 45.3. The most impressive stat is the three-point percentage. Houston has shot 36% on the season, while Portland is just slightly above at 37%. The only stat that really favors one team is the free-throw percentage. Portland, being the best free-throw shooting team in the league, shoots 82% from the line, while Houston, as a team, shoots 71%.

As you can see, the hype was warranted. Both teams like to shoot a ton of threes while getting up and down the floor. Both teams have struggled in the past on the defensive end and containing players. Coming into game 1, Portland had to come out fast and really attack Houston from the tip. Through a bunch of twists, turns, comebacks, dramatic finishes, clutch performances and flat-out stellar playing from both sides, the Portland Trail Blazers managed to steal game 1 from Houston and gain the home-court advantage. The Blazers beat the Rockets 122-120 in an OT thriller which is just a preview of what is to come during this series. Fans watching this game probably had to keep reminding themselves that this was just game 1. This series is going to be a dogfight, which will probably leave both these fanbases despising each other.

Portland came out aggressive. The first possession of the game for Portland was Wesley Matthews posting up James Harden. This will be an interesting storyline and tactic going forward. The Blazers are forcing James Harden to work on the defensive end, which is definitely not his strong suit. Furthermore, the Blazers are hoping that putting him to work on multiple occasions will cause fatigue to set in at some point later on in the game. I thought this was an excellent tactic to try immediately. The MVP of the quarter and, really, the MVP of the game was LaMarcus Aldridge. In the first quarter, he was 5-for-10 from the field and had 12 points, eight rebounds and two blocks as he played the whole quarter. Obviously, this was terrific shift and considering that LA has always been criticized for his disappearances in previous Portland playoff series’ (Houston in ’09 and Phoenix in ’10); this was a great start to his playoff campaign this year.

Damian Lillard also had an effective first quarter as he went 3-for-5 from the field and had seven points, two rebounds and one assist in his first quarter of playoff basketball.

Portland outscored the Rockets 27-20 in the first quarter. Credit to Portland’s defense as James Harden just went 1-for-5 from the field and Dwight Howard went 1-for-6 from the field. The two main weapons for this Houston squad were having a hard time getting into a rhythm.

However, as this series will probably feature a ton, Houston went on a streak. They outscored Portland in the second quarter 29-21. James Harden was 2-for-4 from the field including one three-pointer, while Chandler Parsons continued to carry Houston in the first half by going 4-for-5, including two threes in the quarter. Parsons had 10 points in the quarter while Howard and Harden combined for 11 points. Houston made adjustments and Portland stumbled a little bit. Houston, being down by seven at the beginning of the quarter, surged to take a seven-point lead themselves. Driving lay-ups, an alley-oop and the continued hot shooting of Parsons from beyond the arc were the culprits. However, even through all of that, Portland had a streak of their own as they were able to close the deficit to one going into the second half. Again, both theses teams’ offenses are streaky. Expect to see plenty of these going forward.

One mind-blowing stat for Houston was that the Rockets did not get to the line once in the first half. Not once. Considering that getting to the line is half of James Harden’s game that is impressive to say the least. Furthermore, even though Howard struggles from the line, he gets himself to the line just by his physique and play-style.

Carrying some momentum in the second half, Portland hoped to grab the lead early. Houston was ready. They outscored Portland 30-25.Two quick lay-ups by Terrence Jones, the Portland native, quickly gave the Rockets a five-point lead. Harden started to take off (no pun intended). He hit a three early in the quarter to increase Houston’s lead by eight. Two minutes later, Harden hit another one to push the lead 13. Portland just could not buy a bucket and seemed to be flailing slightly. Give credit to Houston, they were the aggressors to start the second half and forced the Blazers out of their comfortable sets. In my opinion, Houston also forced Portland to speed up forcing uncomfortable passes and some unintended shots.

Still, Portland kept sticking around thanks to Aldridge, who went 4-for-7 in the quarter, Wesley Matthews, who went 3-for-4 as well, including a three-pointer, and Nicolas Batum, who went 3-for-4, including a three-pointer. After two made three-pointers by Lillard, Portland was only staring at a six-point deficit, which was miraculous considering everything started going Houston’s way.

Then the craziness that was the fourth quarter started. Houston continued to fire on all cylinders and jumped out to an 86-73 lead. Portland fans and analysts alike were starting to wonder if the Blazers could actually come back. There was still 10:12 remaining, but the consistency was not there. After jumping out to such a good start, Houston punched Portland in the stomach. Whenever it seemed like Portland would rally back and take the lead, Houston would rattle off four or six quick points.

Again, Aldridge came to the rescue as he made his first three-pointer of the playoffs and the game. I would like to see this play more. Lillard passed the ball to LA in his favorite position on the left block, LA then passed the ball back out to Lillard, but this time, instead of maybe passing the ball back to LA or trying to rotate the ball around the perimeter, LA just backed up to the corner and had one of the most wide-open three-pointers of the game.  I would love to see LA’s three-point game become an option going forward in this series and into next season. They do not seem to be that difficult for him and it would create so many matchup nightmares. Imagine Kevin Love or Blake Griffin having to come out and guard LA out on the perimeter. That would give you so many more options.

Still the Blazers were down by ten and Houston was still hitting enough to hold off any sort of run. What looked to be the backbreaker for Portland was a flagrant foul call on Mo Williams with 7:44 remaining in the quarter. Beverley missed one of his free-throws, but the Rockets converted on the possession.

Then, Terry Stotts decided to start playing the much-recognized hack-a-Howard game. For most teams this might work, however, Howard seems to hit his free-throws against the Blazers. Howard, however, missed four straight free throws and Lillard caught fire. After the first two misses, Lillard had the chance to complete a four-point play. Lillard missed the shot; however, the lead was only seven with 3:50 remaining. It was going to be one of those games. With Howard being fouled again and missing yet another pair, LA converted on a lay-up that cut the deficit to five.

Probably the most genius part about this tactic was the fact that Houston was forced to take out Howard because he couldn’t make a free-throw. At this point, Portland abused the paint by scoring five quick points to tie the game up. With 0:29 remaining, Lillard hit his first true clutch shot of his playoff career by drilling a top of the key three-pointer to tie the game up at 104.

I will say, on the last possession by Houston, Wesley Matthews played much better defense on Harden than he did in the last game against Houston. Harden was off-balance and falling out of bounds. Harden is good, but he isn’t Kevin Durant.

Overtime started off poorly for the Trail Blazers as Houston converted on two three-point plays. The Blazers came right back with another three-pointer by LaMarcus Aldridge, this time with Howard hanging all over him. LA had no business making that shot, but it went. Then Batum, who tends to show up in these situations, drilled a three-pointer as well to tie the game up.

However, in one defensive stand by Portland, the foul trouble got to them. LA and Lopez both fouled out on some questionable plays. Regardless, Damian Lillard took control. Lillard made a lay-up and converted on the free-throw, which caused Patrick Beverley to foul out as well. Lillard then drove to the lane once again and got to the line and swished two clutch free-throws. Joel Freeland, of all people, came up big after not playing all night. Not only did he get fouled by Howard (which we now know, according to the league, was a bad call), but he made one of two free-throws. Also give credit to Freeland as well for playing marvelous defense in the last Houston possession as he blocked Harden’s only route to the basket. Somehow, Portland came out of there with a victory and I still do not know how.

Both teams did not shoot well from three at all. Portland went 9-for-27 and shot just 33%, while Houston went 8-for-35 and shot just 23%. There is this tendency to say that these numbers will eventually go up considering the fact that the three-pointer are both of these teams’ main weapon. However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see that these numbers stay in the general area. Both teams will be trying to take away the three-spot relentlessly. Harden will not go 3-for-14 from beyond the arc every game and Chandler Parsons will definitely not go 3-for-11 from three. It will be interesting to see the adjustments in this area.

Impressively, Portland kept up with Houston in almost every category. I mentioned the free-throw percentage stat up above and it came into play. Houston only shot 65% from the line and went just 26-for-40. Portland only shot 74%, which is low for them.

Now, individually, LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard showed up in a big way.

LaMarcus Aldridge had the best game of his career as he finished with 46 points on 17-for-31 shooting, 2-for-2 from three, 18 rebounds and two blocks. LA set a playoff franchise record for most points scored in a game and really just abused the interior defense of the Rockets. The one major advantage the Blazers have over Houston is the power forward position. No disrespect to Terrence Jones, who is going to be a great player, but LA ate him up. He went to the basket, he hit mid-range jumpers, he even hit three-pointers. Furthermore, how can Houston adjust? Obviously, having Terrence Jones guard him single-handedly doesn’t work and we saw that Howard and Asik guarding him has mixed results. Double-team him? Well, Portland fans saw all season that double-teaming LA almost works to Portland’s advantage as he can kick it out to an open three-point shooter. I predict that we see Houston try and force LA to shoot from long-distance and push him out so he has to take a couple of extra steps to get to the basket. However, that may or may not work. LA truly gives Houston trouble as during the regular season he averaged 26.8 points and 15.5 rebounds.

Damian Lillard, in his first playoff game, did not look nervous at all. He finished with 31 points on 9-for-19 shooting, 3-for-7 from three, but was 10-for-12 from the FT line. He also added five assists and nine rebounds with just one turnover. Hell of a debut I would say. Lillard was a clutch as you could be and he looked to be in his comfort zone. I have said this ever since Lillard came into the league, get him in a postseason situation and see what happens. Well, the results were positive so far. Also, Lillard completely dominated Patrick Beverley. All night Beverley tried to get into Damian’s head by jawing at him and even walking towards him as Lillard walked back to the bench, but Lillard was stone-cold throughout the game. Lillard is only in his second year. How scary is he going to be in a couple of years?

All the praise that I gave the Blazers was warranted, however, it was only one game. The Houston Rockets will look to bounce back in game 2 Wednesday at the Toyota Center and 6:30 p.m. PST. Portland already accomplished what they wanted in these first two games. Now, it is time to get greedy. Stay tuned!