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Blazers ride Roy to 23-point comeback, even series

Apr 24, 2011 - 4:09 AM Portland, OR (Sports Network) - Brandon Roy scored Portland's final eight points to cap a huge fourth quarter rally, as the Trail Blazers erased a 23- point deficit to defeat the Dallas Mavericks, 84-82, in Game 4 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series.

"It still just doesn't feel realy yet," said Roy. "It was just an unbelievable game."

Roy scored 24 points off the bench for the Blazers, who won 97-92 on Thursday and now head back to Dallas for Game 5 on Monday with the series even at two games apiece.

LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 points and six rebounds for Portland, which outscored Dallas, 35-15, in the fourth. Andre Miller donated 14 points.

Dirk Nowitzki tallied 20 points for the Mavericks, who have a bad history at the Rose Garden. The Blazers are 47-18 at home against the Mavs in the regular season and 8-1 in the postseason.

Jason Terry had 13 points in a reserve role for Dallas, which got 12 points and 11 rebounds from Shawn Marion.

It seemed like the Mavericks were heading back to Dallas with a 3-1 series lead following a dominating third quarter. But Roy had something to say about that.

The Blazers, who entered the fourth down 67-49, slowly chipped away at their deficit. It was a 77-70 game after Roy hit a jumper with four minutes to play, but Terry made a three-pointer at the other end.

That was all Dallas had left in the tank, as Roy and the Blazers ended the game on a 14-2 run.

"I never thought we were going to win the game, but I thought we just needed to keep putting pressure on them to give ourselves a chance," said Roy.

"What got us the lead was stops and scores, and what lost us the lead was we went eight straight times without scoring," said Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle. "Obviously, it's a very tough loss and we're very disappointed."

Wesley Matthews and Roy made consecutive layups to make it a six-point contest with 2 1/2 minutes remaining. The Rose Garden was in full force after Nowitzki was called for a charge.

Aldridge then made a hook shot to get Portland within four, 80-76. The Rose Garden continued to cheer after Jason Kidd turned the ball over. Roy kept the party going with a long jumper.

Marion scored Dallas' only points during the stretch with a short jumper. But Roy was fouled while making a three-pointer at the opposite end. He made the foul shot to make it an 82-82 game with 1:06 to play.

Terry missed a three-pointer and the ball was knocked out of bounds by Dallas. Roy made his way into the lane, pulled up and made a bank shot to give Portland the lead with 39.2 seconds to go.

Kidd was off the mark from three-point range for the Mavs this time around. Gerald Wallace grabbed a key defensive rebound and called timeout.

Roy tried to put the game away with a three-pointer, but he missed. Kidd grabbed the rebound and threw a pass down the court for Terry, but he missed from beyond the arc as time expired, giving Portland the unexpected win.

"We just kept getting stops and the balls came our way. It was an incredible game to be a part of," said Roy.

Dallas seemed to take control of the game with a dominating third quarter. Holding a 39-37 edge with over 10 minutes left, the Mavericks went on a 9-0 spurt. Marion tallied four points during the burst, which Kidd capped with a three-pointer for a 48-37 margin.

Just moments later, Nowitzki made a short jumper and two free throws prior to Marion's jumper with six minutes remaining for a 54-39 lead.

After Aldridge made two free throws, Dallas ripped off 10 straight points. Nowitzki and Peja Stojakovic bookended the flurry with a pair of three- pointers for a 64-41 edge with 2:47 to go.

Portland scored the final five points of the stanza to get within 67-49 heading to the fourth, a period in which the Blazers controlled.

A low-scoring first quarter resulted in Dallas holding a 16-11 edge. Portland outscored the Mavericks, 24-21, in the second to get within 37-35 at the half.

Game Notes

Portland and Dallas have met in the playoffs three times previously, with the Trail Blazers winning two of the three series. The last time these two squads met in the playoffs was in 2003 when the Mavs topped Portland in seven games...Dallas dropped its eighth straight road playoff game. The Mavericks have now lost 19 of their last 22 playoff games away from home...Wallace had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Portland, which went 22-of-23 from the foul line...Dallas went 10-of-26 from three-point range...Roy entered the fourth quarter with six points.