Juan Dixon closed out the half on an isolation play, which resulted in yet another foul on the San Antonio Spurs' front line. Dixon made both free-throws and extended the Portland lead to 8.

A big reason why Portland heads into halftime with the lead is the lack of fear amongst each player from top to bottom. Zach Randolph has established himself. Magloire has grabbed 5 rebounds, including two big offensive rebounds in the second quarter. Lamarcus Aldridge, although he only saw limited action in the second quarter, took his first two possessions right at Tim Duncan and converted them into 4 points.

The Trail Blazers are playing like a team that deserves to be higher than 15th on the NBA Power Rankings, not a team that is happy to be as high as they are.

Portland needs to continue to pressure the Spurs front line and control the tempo like they've been doing all game. From the outset, they have dictated almost every aspect of the contest, and if it weren't for some uncharacteristically good free-throw shooting, the Spurs went 12-12 in the first half, the Trail Blazer lead would be even higher. Regardless, Portland fans are primed to send the Spurs packing with their first road loss of the season.

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