That 4-0 start was nice, but it's over now. There goes our five-game winning streak heading into that match-up with the Spurs tomorrow. Tim Duncan would have been all like "Shit, the Hornets are unbeaten and I'm therefore extremely intimidated and will likely go scoreless in this contest," but now instead he'll be all like "HA! They lost to the Blazers, and I am therefore extremely confident in my ability to dominate them with post moves and rebounds."

Thanks, Portland. Thanks a fucking bunch.

You know I'm not really that mad though. It was the second game of a back-to-back, and our guys must have been feeling the fatigue after their flight from LA was delayed; they only made it to Portland yesterday afternoon. It would have been nice to take 5-0 home to face the Spurs, but Jessica Alba isn't my girlfriend either.

On to the news and notes and stuff…

• Final score was 93-90. Linkage: box | recap | video
• The Hornets never really seemed in control of this one. Their biggest lead was 7 late in the second quarter, but the Blazers came out and outscored us 32-15 in the third. Portland's lead ballooned to 15 before our guys brought it back to within 5 a few times late in the game, but it was too little too late.
• Martell Webster and Jarrett Jack carried the offense for Portland, scoring 20 apiece. Jack, usually a starter, did all his damage in 25 minutes off the bench. Brandon Roy chipped in with 17 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds.
• Great game by David West. 34 points, 18 rebounds. Them's some crazy numbers. He was pretty aggressive against the Blazers, not relying mostly on his jumper like he did in Denver last weekend. Instead, he was posting up, taking it to the rack and putting away second chances. He's gotta be the Hornets most versatile scorer, able to mix it up inside and out this season.
• Peja hits 1-of-10 for 5 points on Sunday. Peja hits 12-of-21 for 36 points on Tuesday. Peja hits 2-of-13 for 5 points on Wednesday. Who wants to predict what he'll do on Friday?
• Tyson, Tyson, Tyson. You can't get kicked out of the game for stupid things like that. If you're gonna get ejected, start a fight or something, take one of their guys with you. His ejection last night was probably the difference between winning and losing.
• The Portland media talk about signing Chris Paul as a free agent (dream on, fellas), and tell us what went down at the end of the third quarter…

  Consider that Paul took a three-point shot as the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter, and as he took the shot a Blazers fan in the front row reached out his foot and kicked the back of Paul's calf. The shot didn't count. The kick did.

  But Paul, who had 21 assists two games ago, didn't wheel and pummel the sap. He didn't kick back. He didn't spit. He didn't make an obscene gesture. He didn't throw an elbow. He just walked up to the fan and said, "Don't kick me, man."

  Paul = classy. That fan = asshole.

• By the way, CP had 18 points, 12 dimes and 3 steals. It's incredible that those numbers almost seem ho-hum for him.
• Byron Scott post-game (thanks, Jim)…

  "Tyson losing his cool really hurt us. (Paul and West) weren't very happy. David made some choice words after the game and rightfully so. David is a man of few words, but when he speaks, he's going to tell you the truth. Tyson is a guy we can't afford to lose, and especially to something as stupid as that. He knows that. So I didn't have to say anything to (Chandler). Hopefully he'll learn from it."

• View from the other side: Blazer's Edge.

Does anyone else find it comforting that, on the second night of a back-to-back, we shot just 3-of-12 from downtown, got a pretty poor performance from the reserves, were without Tyson Chandler for the entire fourth quarter, and still only lost by 3 points? Them Blazers really really wanted this one, too, being their home opener and all.

Anyway, back to New Orleans, please driver. Wake me when we get there.