Crazy like a fox

Dysfunctional Blazers think they can make history

Lock the front doors.

Hide the woman and children.

Tell Fido he can sleep upstairs tonight.

The Jail Blazers are back. The NBA’s most dysfunctional team pulled off the equivalent of a prison break Wednesday night, rallying late in dramatic fashion to stun the host Mavs in Game 5.

Once trailing 3-0 in the series, the Blazers suddenly are riding high and headed back to the Rose Garden for Game 6. No team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 deficit. But if any team knows how to do crazy stuff, it’s Portland.

The Mavs, up 3-2, still have to be considered a safe bet to get out of this series. But, make no mistake, Portland is armed and dangerous. The Blazers have talent. They have momentum. And with Zach Randolph and Scottie Pippen, they now have two X factors for which the Mavs have to find an answer.

2 Top-seeded teams that have lost in the first round of the playoffs since the NBA went to a 16-team format. "Game 6 is ours. We'll see which Wake Forest guy is smarter." -- Suns head coach Frank Johnson, after San Antonio's Tim Duncan guaranteed a Spurs victory in Game 6. Johnson and Duncan are both Wake Forest alumni. Will the Trail Blazers become the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-0 deficit?

Randolph has given Portland a scoring threat inside. He not only scored 22 points Wednesday (he had 25 in Game 4), but he also so manhandled Dallas’ soft interior that the Blazers weren’t afraid to go to him for a key possession late. Randolph produced by drawing a foul on Michael Finley and hitting both free throws.

The return of Pippen, meanwhile, has given Portland a psychological boost as well as another long defender. It was Pippen who was barking out commands on the court and keeping the Blazers calm in the frantic final minutes.

Given the way Rasheed Wallace nearly killed his team by failing to get back on defense after clanking an ill-advised 3-pointer moments earlier, Pippen’s ability to keep them all on the same page cannot be overestimated.

Meanwhile, the Mavs have to be getting those deep, dark thoughts again. The feelings of doubt that seem to creep into their heads every time they play the Lakers. The ones that even Stuart Smalley couldn’t exorcise.

The Mavs still have the league’s best offense, and coach Don Nelson will make adjustments. They also have the comfort of a pivotal seventh game at home. Ultimately, this could be a good experience for them.

Win or lose, however, the Blazers have to be given credit for not quitting. In fact, the same goes for the Hornets and Pistons. Only six clubs in NBA history have come back from a 3-1 deficit, but the latter two also kept hope alive with hard-fought efforts Wednesday.

In Philadelphia, the Hornets survived thanks to 16 points from George Lynch, who normally hits the side of the backboard on his shot attempts. Amazingly, he only did so once in Game 5.

In Detroit, the Pistons somehow held Tracy McGrady under 20 points for just the second time in Orlando's past 56 games.

And now, in Portland, the Blazers have a chance to pull off the biggest comeback of them all.

Apparently Christina Aguilera ain’t the only "Fighter" in this year’s NBA playoffs.

	Glenn James/NBAE/Getty Images/NHLI Stud: Dirk Nowitzki, F, Mavs In a losing effort, Nowitzki scored a game-high 35 points and pulled down 11 boards. He was 11-of-12 from the line.		Ronald Martinez/Getty Images Dud: Steve Nash, G, Mavs Not all the Mavs brought their A games, though. Nash was 2-of-11 from the field in Game 5, scoring only seven points.

The Nets have outrebounded the Bucks by a whopping nine boards per game through the first five contests. Milwaukee has to do a better job on the glass Thursday night in Game 6 if it hopes to stay alive. Are you listening, Anthony Mason? The Pacers are hoping that the streaky Celtics find that the rim gets smaller as the pressure mounts to close them out Thursday night in Game 6. Given that Boston missed 14 of its last 15 field-goal attempts Tuesday, maybe they’re onto something. Neither the T’wolves nor the Suns were able to play with the same kind of intense defensive pressure in Game 5. It will be interesting to see if either underdog has enough left in the tank Thursday night to force a Game 7.

Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.

 

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