It was Tuesday, February 3rd, and approaching midnight here in the CST. The Blazers' home game against the Phoenix Suns wasn't over yet because it was one of those NBC/Peacock specials with the later start. I wasn't real happy, as the Blazers were in the process of blowing a game that had begun so well. Long gone was the 19-point lead they held in the 1st quarter, built largely thanks to a smoking hot start that saw them put 26 points on the board in the first 6 minutes. Also gone was their 72-67 halftime lead. Now the Suns led 93-89, and it was anybody's game.
Jerami Grant subbed in for Portland with 1:52 remaining in the 3rd, replacing Toumani Camara - which went unnoticed by me at the moment. But as I looked closer over the next few moments there was something I most definitely did notice. And I was like, "Wait a minute; what is this?" And then as I kept on watching and made sure it wasn't a mirage it hit me. "This is the first time. It has to be." The first time what, you ask?
