Cameron Crowell by Cameron Crowell In what could only be described as a “Toumani Camara Legacy Game,” the Portland Trail Blazers soundly blew out a solid Eastern Conference playoff team in front of a mostly full Moda Center crow d last night, February 9. The Belgian Bestie was truly out of his mind, finishing with 30 points on 12 shot attempts (8-10 from three), three rebounds, three steals, and drew a charge—a trademark hustle play from the young NBA All-Defense award winner.  I'd be scared too if I were the 76ers. IAN COX This game saw the return of Deni Avdija to the starting lineup, the Blazers first All-Star since Damian Lillard, who quietly clocked in for a 26 point-10 rebound-8 assist double-double. With young phenom Scoot Henderson returning, after taking Saturday off, for his second appearance of the season the Blazers finally have a couple reliable point guards. The Philadelphia 76ers played slightly shorthanded without former MVP-winning Center Joel Embiid, in his place were former Blazers’ legend Trendon Watford, and the oldest 32-year-old in the league, Andre Drummond.  The Blazers started off slow. On some early turnovers from the hometown team, Philly star Tyrese Maxey capitalized with some textbook smooth finishes in the lane. The young 76ers all-star seemingly got to the foul line whenever he wanted. In one painful second quarter sequence, Maxey drew a foul on the Blazers’ high energy role player Sidy Cissoko—a call Cissoko visibly disliked. While the broadcast went to a media timeout, Kelly Oubre Jr.—an aura farming NBA journeyman perhaps more famous for being beautiful than being good at basketball—jeeringly waved at the fuming Cissoko as he walked to the bench. Maxey returned, nailing his extra free throw. While the 76ers clowned our Zers, the half ended with only a one point lead for the visiting team. Whether it was a heartfelt speech from Blazers’ acting Head Coach Tiago Splitter, the 76ers slowed by some halftime beers, or the rousing halftime performance from a local children’s Wushu/Kung Fu club, the tide shifted in the third quarter. Scoot threw an alley-oop lob to Robert Williams III for early quarter dunking. Then the big man Rob, who’s only attempted 16 threes all season, shot and drilled both his wide open corner threes.  Eat your heart out Blazers Dancers. IAN COX The true dagger to the heart of any potential Philly comeback came in a sequence where Camara nailed his seventh three of the game, at which point 76ers Coach Nick Nurse called a timeout in an attempt to settle his troops. Immediately out of the timeout, Blazer center Donovan Clingan full palm blocked the 76ers’ next shot attempt, leading to a semi-transition counter attack for the Blazers. After one pass, Toumani cashed in his eighth three of the game. Within the next two minutes, Scoot threw up another lob pass for a rare Toumani Camara alley-oop dunk, sending the entirety of Moda Center to its feet.  Clingan? More like Juan. IAN COX This is perhaps the most fun the Blazers have had all season, outscoring Philly by 27 in the period and effectively turning the final quarter into what may be the most extended “garbage-time” minutes the Blazers have ever earned. The Blazers fully invoked jesters' privilege as they disrespected the city of Philadelphia, where a bunch of old White slave owners signed the Declaration of Independence and now they’ve kind of made that their whole personality.  The final quarter was mostly inconsequential. Both teams trotted out the ends of their bench for a final few minutes of ugly basketball. However, in one last silly act of defiance, Tiago Splitter called a timeout to challenge a foul call with a 25 point lead and 2:20 left in the game. Splitter lost the petty challenge, and the obvious foul by Yang Hansen granted the 76ers’ MarJon Beauchamp free throws to cut the lead to 23. Don’t look too fast, but the Blazers have won three in a row. I for one have chosen to completely forget about any six game losing streak the Blazers may (or may not) have had just before this. Sure the Grizzlies, one could argue, are trying to lose to get a good draft pick and the 76ers were without one of their stars in Joel Embiid. And yes, the Blazers, who are tied for the NBA’s worst 3-point shooting percentage, made an incredible 41% of their threes. Some losers and haters critics may call this an outlier. I say—let’s enjoy it. The Blazers may not win the championship. But they might make the play-in tournament? Get the eight seed? Scare some national NBA pundits after stealing a playoff game against the Oklahoma City Thunder?  After the Moda Center emptied out in triumph, my friends and I celebrated with victory hot dogs outside the arena. This time the dogs were perfectly charred instead of ice cold. Truly anything is possible. Anything is possible with Toumani Camara and hot dogs in your corner. IAN COX ...read more read less