Did the anarchists help the Blazers?

The Blazers beat Denver yesterday to even their playoff series at two games apiece. So now it's reduced to the best two out of three, with the next game in Denver, then back to Portland, then Denver again if necessary.

Yesterday's contest wasn't much to watch. Denver shot as badly as Portland had on Thursday night. The Nuggets couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. They missed 31 three-point shots, which, funny thing, is the exact same number that the Blazers had missed the game before. Sometimes it does feel quite scripted.

Blazers star Damian Lillard, who gets the "MVP" chant at the Moda Center these days, missed nine of the 10 shots he took, and yet Portland plowed Denver under. Recent acquisition Norman Powell went nuts and poured in 29 points to lead the win.

I was puzzled to see that Enes Kanter played only three minutes for Portland. Was he hurt? When the Portland main big man, Joe Nurkic, sat down, coach Terry Stotts inserted a guy named Rondae Hollis-Jefferson into the lineup. It didn't go well.

It was a day game yesterday, which is not the norm, and the Nuggets looked tired. I don't know what hotel they were occupying, but maybe they had trouble sleeping with all the noise from the mini-riot going on downtown on Friday night. 

In that incident, the usual black bloc types got together for some of their customary public masturbation. This time, it was a special anniversary riot commemorating last year's riot. They were busy throwing eggs at the Central Precinct when, lo and behold, they spotted a spy in their midst! A well-known right-wing provocateur, or so the rioters thought. They chased him back to the Nines Hotel, were he cowered behind a desk clerk until the cops sped over to protect him. The police DJ from Hell was out there making all sorts of racket with his apocalyptic announcements.

If the Nuggets were staying in the Nines, they were up late. Even if they were in a different hotel nearby, it may have been too noisy to sleep until a late hour. And their usual time zone is an hour ahead of Portland's.

Blazer Losses Matter?

The scene in Denver will be a lot more placid, I suspect. The Blazers are an excellent road team, and they can pull of a win on Tuesday evening. They had better, because whoever loses this next one must win the next two to survive, one on the road and the other at home.