Rockets, Trail Blazers not looking beyond Game 5

It could be the end of the line or the start of something big.

One more win and the Houston Rockets will have ended their 12-year drought and escape the first round of the Playoffs. One more win and the Portland Trail Blazers could turn everything about the series upside down.

"It is no time to think about the Lakers," warned Rockets center Yao Ming. "This series isn't over."

Not when the past two games in Houston were decided by three points and one point. Not when the Blazers are going back for Game 5 to the Rose Garden, where they are often in full bloom.

"It's a huge challenge to see what kind of fight we have left in us," said Blazers coach Nate McMillan. "We're at home and it's not over until they win four games."

For the Rockets, it is the first time they've held a 3-1 lead in a series since 1997 when a team that included the legendary names of Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Charles Barkley took that commanding edge on Seattle, then lost the next two games before surviving in Game 7. That is the last series win for the franchise.

For the Blazers, the series has been more frustrating than disappointing, since their only blowout loss came in the series opener and the Rockets had to claw and scratch to pull out a couple of razor-thin wins at home.

"We've been right there two times," said Portland forward LaMarcus Aldridge. "The problem was that we didn't make the right plays down the stretch to win those games and they did. A play here and a play there -- those are small things that make a very big difference."

The Blazers are now faced with the same dilemma that the Rockets have been trying to solve ever since Game 1. They need to find a consistent offensive running mate who can help their star.

After Portland threw up a defensive wall around Yao in Games 2 and 3 -- using the pair of 7-footers Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden in rotation and sometimes in tandem -- the Blazers forced the Rockets to look to their supporting cast for offense. And over the past two games, Luis Scola, Shane Battier and Von Wafer have delivered, finding the open spots on the court to make just enough of the right shots at the right time.

Now it's the Blazers who need help for Brandon Roy, who has been the most consistent dominant offensive force of the series, averaging 28.5 points. Roy sets the tone for the Portland offense early and he has the ball in his hands for the big plays late.

But while Aldridge has had a pair of double-doubles (19 points, 10 rebounds in Game 4), he has not been able to get himself untracked consistently to be the force that he was in the regular season. Travis Outlaw finally showed a spark (6-for-14, 14 points) on Sunday, but missed a critical 3-pointer with 8.3 seconds left and has played with little rhythm and what seems to be less confidence. Steve Blake has only produced in short sreaks and Rudy Fernandez even less.

"We've got to keep our guys Shane and Ron [Artest] up on Roy and not let him play better than he already has -- and that's saying a lot," said Rockets forward Chuck Hayes. "He's a great player. They're going to find ways to get him the ball and he's going to get up a high volume of shots. You have to give Roy a lot of credit for what he's been able to do. But we've also got to keep working at not letting his teammates join in with him. If they all get going, if they all get on a roll with confidence, that's when they can be real trouble."

One of the NBA's top rebounding teams during the regular season, the taller Blazers are being beaten consistently on the boards by the Rockets in the series. Portland gave up an eye-popping 10 offensive rebounds to the Rockets in the fourth quarter of Game 4 alone, resulting in 13 second-chance points down the stretch. They also committed seven turnovers in the final period.

"I don't know why," Przybilla said. "They've wanted it more than us. That's what it comes down to, plain and simple."

No simpler than what the Blazers are facing now.

"For us," said McMillan, "it's a one-game season."