Brandon Roy has had, without question, his toughest season as a pro, dealing with two knee surgeries and a dramatically changed role with the Portland Trail Blazers, a team of which just six months ago he was the undisputed star and MVP. Knee surgery has turned the young Roy into a shell of his attacking self, and he'd been particularly ineffective in the first two games of the Blazers' first-round 2011 NBA Playoffs series against the Dallas Mavericks, scoring a total of two points.
Brandon Roy Breaks Out Of Slump To Contribute In Blazers’ Game 3 Win Over Mavericks
He played just eight minutes in Game 2, which led to some hard feelings as Roy complained about feeling disrespected after the match ended in a second Portland loss. Before Game 3, he apologized to coach Nate McMillan and his teammates. In Game 3, he repaid them on the court.
Roy played 24 minutes and broke out 16 points on 6-10 shooting with four assists, fantastic production off the bench. He definitely had jumper going, and it was Roy’s highest point total since March 15, and only the eighth time since returning from knee surgery on Feb. 23 he scored in double-digits. And it couldn’t have come at a better time, as the Blazers needed every bit to squeeze a 97-92 win over the Mavericks.
Ben Golliver of Blazersedge talked to Blazers co-star LaMarcus Aldridge about how Roy looked in Game 3 compared to the two games in Dallas.
“Playing with confidence,” Aldridge said of Roy’s night. “I thought he had his swag back tonight. He was a little bit more loose, going through his legs more, I thought that was big for us tonight.”
Game 4 is Saturday at the Rose Garden in Portland.
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