Trail Blazers drop Rockets in overtime thriller

Tempers flared, three technical fouls were assigned, four players fouled out, overtime was needed, and when the final buzzer sounded, the Portland Trail Blazers walked away with a 122-120 win in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Houston Rockets.

Not only did LaMarcus Aldridge, who fouled out in the extra frame, post game highs of 46 points and 18 rebounds, but he was also responsible for keeping the Trail Blazers alive with a game-tying tip-in that forced overtime. Damian Lillard also posted 31 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, resulting in an accomplishment that hasn't been seen in 22 years.

Tensions were high from the get-go. The Trail Blazers took the court after gathering around a quote of Patrick Beverley calling Damian Lillard a "whiner," and from there, the contest saw the two teams combine for 65 personal fouls and 79 free throw attempts.

The first of the three technical fouls came towards the end of the first half, when Dwight Howard took out his frustration on Robin Lopez by dropping the ball on the Sideshow Bob lookalike.

Only minutes into the second half, Beverley was then assigned an odd technical foul for clapping his hands in a manner the referees deemed inappropriate. Just like all of us watching the game, the Arkansas product was slightly bewildered by the decision.

In the fourth quarter, Howard came to life and proceeded to drop 12 of his team-high 27 points, while also drawing Lopez into earning a technical foul with a cheeky elbow that went unnoticed by the referees.

Of course, had Howard received another technical, his night would have been over. Instead, he stayed in the game and the Rockets posted the following picture to their Twitter account:

It may have actually benefited the Rockets if Howard had been ejected as he ended up hitting only 4-of-10 free throws once the Trail Blazers deployed the "Hack-A-Howard" strategy in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

Another notable incident in the later stages of the game involved Thomas Robinson committing a hard foul on Beverley, who reacted to the play by frolicking around the court.

Yes, it was a weird contest. But it was also undoubtedly the most entertaining Game 1 of this year's playoffs. We can only hope for more of the same throughout the series.

Game 2 goes Wednesday night at 9:30 p.m. EST.