Best of 2009-2010 #5: Jerryd Bayless Wills the Blazers to Victory in San Antonio

Only a few weeks before, Greg Oden went down to a disturbing knee injury. Just the night before, Joel Przybilla went down with almost the exact same version of that knee injury, with his kneecap breaking apart like an Oreo cookie. Still, the Blazers won that game in Dallas, due to the heroics and consistency of Brandon Roy. Well, Brandon Roy was gone that night in San Antonio, ailing due to a bum shoulder. The Blazers only had eight players dressed. Turns out that was all they needed.

This game featured the Blazers at their most short-handed, missing their star player, with interior duties handed to a couple of unproven rookies and a should-be-over-the-hill Juwan Howard in a place where they've had difficulty winning for the past decade. It didn't matter.

The biggest story of this game was Jerryd Bayless exploding for a career high 31 points. He scored through an array of aggressive layups, bowling down San Antonio defenders, and leftTony Parker stunned and existentially bruised (until he got home, at least). He drew the whistles and calmly knocked down free throw after free throw after free throw.

Story 1A from this ridiculous victory was Juwan Howard. The old bones still had a little life in them. This game was the beginning of an impressive run from mid-December to mid-February where Howard not only played center as the starter, but also played the position serviceably well, keeping the Blazers in games despite their total lack of interior presence. In this game, he took on the younger Tim Dun can, and did enough to stay somewhat even with him, gaining 12 rebounds to Duncan's 11 while LaMarcus Aldridge abused his Spurs defenders for 22. 

The spread in Vegas for this game was -11. In the hearts of Blazer fans less than 24 hours after Joel Przybilla's potential career-ender, it could have been -100. No game this season showed the Blazers' collective heart and will than this performance. The Blazers became a hydra; one guy went down, two more popped up to take his place. This is the game that defined the tone and style for the team for the rest of the season.