Dan Christopherson,  KOIN Local 6 Sports Director

Making the long walk through the Houston airport concourse, gift shops left and right feature the expected Western fare along with t-Shirts, mugs and magnets with a red, white and blue statement:  "Don't Mess With Texas."

Leaving Games 3 and 4 of this playoff series behind, the Blazers definitely dared to tangle with a certain NBA team from the Longhorn State, but falling short of bringing home a playoff victory goes down as a mission unaccomplished.

Houston, Texas hoop fans are feeling mighty proud today.  Put a scare in us, Trail Blazers, fine.  Take your shots at beating the Rockets, just don't make 'em when it matters most.  Don't Mess With Texas.

In the locker room following the 89-88 near miss defeat, several Blazers talked about how this year's playoff run is a learning experience, how they're soaking it all in and, win or lose, will emerge a better team.  This is this group's first trial by fire in late April, and you have to go through it before you truly grasp what it's all about.

Playoff basketball is a higher level of intensity.  If you made it to the first two games in Portland, you felt it.  We experienced it at the Houston Toyota Center, in its own way.  When your P.A. Announcer has to tell the fans, "Brandon Roy at the line for two LOUD free throws," urging the crowd to try and distract him, well, it's clear Rocket Mania is not quite as instinctive and pure as Blazer Mania.

But back to the point:  In the playoffs, you have to approach every play with urgency.  The Blazers get that.  They've been talking about it all series.  They just haven't quite been able to act on it yet.  Take Game 4.  It followed the general formula for a young team learning its way on the road:  Start slow, galvanize and make an energetic run to get back in it, only to lose focus on the key possessions in the final minutes.  

Why the slow start?  They want to play with more urgency at tip off, but they just haven't reached that level of team maturity yet.  These guys are young, proud and most comfortable playing the underdog rallying from behind, especially on the road.  They did it again last night.  Down double digits, Travis Outlaw relaxed and buried some big shots.  LaMarcus Aldridge did the same.  

But when it came down to the final minutes, in a relatively hostile enviroment, they turned it over a couple times, just couldn't quite secure an important rebound, and watched Yao Ming and Shane Battier shoot Houston to victory.

And when they had a shot to tie, when everybody in the arena knew Brandon Roy was going to get the ball, the Blazers needed another veteran presence out there who wanted to take--and make--the big shot.  Instead, Roy tried to make something happen and was called for an offensive foul.  He went down battling, as he always does.  His teammates played hard, too.  But as a unit, they just were missing that steadiness that an experienced team has at playoff crunch time.  They'll get there.  It just doesn't happen overnight.

Coach Nate McMillan said it:  This series is not over.  First team to win four games is the winner.  It's 3-1 Rockets.  Based on what we've seen in this Blazers team all year, I envision another rousing Rose Garden Tuesday night and a determined home team jumping on the Rockets early and often.

Will they win Game 5?  It'll likely come down to those key possessions at the finish, and Portland has a much better chance at success on the home court.  If they make it happen, then it's back to Houston to face a Rockets franchise that hasn't won a single playoff series since 1997.  They're 0 for the last 6.  Maybe the ghosts of playoff failures past will start to creep in.  Maybe something will click and the Blazers will have a road breakthrough.  Maybe.  

But these things take time.  No Blazer fan should be satisfied with a first round playoff exit.  And you wouldn't tolerate that from the players.  You want them to battle hard to the finish, and we've seen this team do that all year.  As Coach McMillan said, it will be interesting to see now how much fight this team has left.

If they can take the battle to the Rockets at the Rose Garden, they can send this series back to the land where everything's bigger:  Hats, hospitality and airports.  And maybe by then, they'll be ready to MESS WITH TEXAS.