Understandably, the Blazers aren't looking beyond tonight's game at the Rose Garden, where they went 34-7 in the regular season and have played before 70 consecutive sellout crowds.

"We still have some life in us, and we're going to definitely come out fighting," center Joel Przybilla said.

Missed opportunities

The Blazers left Toyota Center disheartened on Sunday after a one-point loss to the Rockets. Portland had chances to win both games on the Rockets' home court but couldn't finish.

The last team to recover to win a playoff series after falling in a 3-1 hole was the 2006 Phoenix Suns, who beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.

"It's going to be extremely tough, but anything can happen," guard Steve Blake said. "We're going to give it all we have and try to get this next win and come back to Houston and come out to play."

It's not as if the Blazers have experience on their side. Most of them are making their first appearance in the playoffs. With an average age of 24, they are the second-youngest team in the NBA.

Youth can be asset

But the youth and inexperience could work in Portland's favor, forward Travis Outlaw said.

"We're a young team, and we think anything is possible," he said. "We're going to go home and get a win there and come back and fight again."

The Blazers contend they won't do much differently on their home court in Game 5. Winning becomes a matter of execution, which means taking better care of the Basketball and rebounding better late in the game.

"First, we have to take care of our home court," guard Brandon Roy said. "The biggest thing is turnovers, and they got way too many offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter (Sunday). That's just focus and effort down the stretch. We have to suck it up, even if we're tired."

Blake agrees with his backcourt mate.

"I don't know if we'll do much differently," he said. "I think our game plan was good. Every once in a while, we didn't execute (in Game 4), which cost us. But I like our game plan. And the coach (Nate McMillan) puts us in the right situations, and we just have to take care of our part."

Roy, whose 28.2 points per game ranked third in this year's playoffs behind Lebron James and Tony Parker entering Monday, believes the experience of being down 3-1 helps in the long run.

"The important thing is we don't want anybody to let us feeling like we're not getting better," he said. "We're out there and playing and need this experience because, for a lot of us, it's the first time. It's important we take it one game at a time. We know now our backs are against the wall. It's a one-game series."

brian.mctaggart@chron.com