tlongII
11-02-2009, 10:48 AM
http://www.iamatrailblazersfan.com/GamesPagesRoot/GameArticleDisplay/tabid/201/IamaGameID/259/ItemID/742/Default.aspx
http://www.iamatrailblazersfan.com/Portals/iama/images/blazers_thunder_110109.jpg
Nothing seemed to come easy Sunday night in Oklahoma City, but during the course of an 82 game regular season, it’s vital to learn to win even the ugliest games. Behind a stout defensive performance, the Portland Trail Blazers (2-2) went into OKC and handed the Thunder (2-1) their first loss of the season and gave Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan his 150th win with the team. The 83-74 victory over their Northwest Division opponent should give the team momentum heading into the upcoming three game home stand.
After allowing the Houston Rockets to score 111 points and shoot over 50% from the field in last night’s loss, the Trail Blazers responded with their best defensive performance of the regular season.
“Coming off last night’s loss and coming in here tonight I thought we gutted it out,” said Nate McMillan. “I thought our defense was real good we made them work. I thought we made them earn it tonight.”
Much of the credit must be given to Martell Webster, who did an unbelievable job containing Kevin Durant. Durant came into the game averaging 25 points per game, but he could get nothing going against Webster. Durant shot 3-21 from the field and scored only 16 points. Webster was physical with Durant in the post, and didn’t allow him any easy looks or uncontested jumpers on the perimeter. As a team, Portland limited the Thunder to only 34.3% shooting from the field.
When statistically looking at the defensive performance by the Trail Blazers, there are some truly staggering numbers. Perhaps the most impressive statistic from the game was the fact that the Thunder had only six assists, while they turned the ball over 16 times. The six assists were the fewest allowed in a game in Trail Blazers franchise history.
“You’re never gonna have a perfect game but we sure bought into our system defensively tonight,” said Brandon Roy. “This was a huge step forward. Now we can just continue to build on this and not take a step back, we’ll be alright. We’ve got to be a defensive-minded team.”
While this would hardly be considered an outstanding offensive performance, there were a few highlights from some guys that have struggled early in the season. Steve Blake found the shooting touch that made him so valuable on the perimeter last season. Blake scored 18 points, and even more importantly, he hit 4-5 attempts from behind the three point line. Greg Oden effectively controlled the paint throughout the game, and was able to play aggressively while avoiding the foul trouble that has plagued him during his young career. Oden had his first double double of the season, with 12 points and 10 rebounds in a season-high 29 minutes.
“We are starting to run some stuff for (Oden),” said McMillan.I” thought he got us off to a good start establishing the post down low. We have to learn to find him and get him the ball. I thought he did a good job defensively tonight.”
Travis Outlaw gave the team a boost with great minutes off the bench, as he was forced to replace an injured LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge banged knees with Jeff Green during the second quarter and was forced to miss the rest of the game. Much like he did in the season opener, Outlaw continually demonstrated aggressiveness on the offensive end, scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds. Juwan Howard gave the team nine valuable minutes off the bench. Although he didn’t score, Howard set strong screens in the offense and also played strong defense on both Green and Nenad Krstic.
The Trail Blazers return to the friendly confines of the Rose Garden on Tuesday night when they host the Atlanta Hawks. The opening tip is scheduled for 7:00 PST, and this will mark the first game against an Eastern Conference opponent.
http://www.iamatrailblazersfan.com/Portals/iama/images/blazers_thunder_110109.jpg
Nothing seemed to come easy Sunday night in Oklahoma City, but during the course of an 82 game regular season, it’s vital to learn to win even the ugliest games. Behind a stout defensive performance, the Portland Trail Blazers (2-2) went into OKC and handed the Thunder (2-1) their first loss of the season and gave Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan his 150th win with the team. The 83-74 victory over their Northwest Division opponent should give the team momentum heading into the upcoming three game home stand.
After allowing the Houston Rockets to score 111 points and shoot over 50% from the field in last night’s loss, the Trail Blazers responded with their best defensive performance of the regular season.
“Coming off last night’s loss and coming in here tonight I thought we gutted it out,” said Nate McMillan. “I thought our defense was real good we made them work. I thought we made them earn it tonight.”
Much of the credit must be given to Martell Webster, who did an unbelievable job containing Kevin Durant. Durant came into the game averaging 25 points per game, but he could get nothing going against Webster. Durant shot 3-21 from the field and scored only 16 points. Webster was physical with Durant in the post, and didn’t allow him any easy looks or uncontested jumpers on the perimeter. As a team, Portland limited the Thunder to only 34.3% shooting from the field.
When statistically looking at the defensive performance by the Trail Blazers, there are some truly staggering numbers. Perhaps the most impressive statistic from the game was the fact that the Thunder had only six assists, while they turned the ball over 16 times. The six assists were the fewest allowed in a game in Trail Blazers franchise history.
“You’re never gonna have a perfect game but we sure bought into our system defensively tonight,” said Brandon Roy. “This was a huge step forward. Now we can just continue to build on this and not take a step back, we’ll be alright. We’ve got to be a defensive-minded team.”
While this would hardly be considered an outstanding offensive performance, there were a few highlights from some guys that have struggled early in the season. Steve Blake found the shooting touch that made him so valuable on the perimeter last season. Blake scored 18 points, and even more importantly, he hit 4-5 attempts from behind the three point line. Greg Oden effectively controlled the paint throughout the game, and was able to play aggressively while avoiding the foul trouble that has plagued him during his young career. Oden had his first double double of the season, with 12 points and 10 rebounds in a season-high 29 minutes.
“We are starting to run some stuff for (Oden),” said McMillan.I” thought he got us off to a good start establishing the post down low. We have to learn to find him and get him the ball. I thought he did a good job defensively tonight.”
Travis Outlaw gave the team a boost with great minutes off the bench, as he was forced to replace an injured LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge banged knees with Jeff Green during the second quarter and was forced to miss the rest of the game. Much like he did in the season opener, Outlaw continually demonstrated aggressiveness on the offensive end, scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds. Juwan Howard gave the team nine valuable minutes off the bench. Although he didn’t score, Howard set strong screens in the offense and also played strong defense on both Green and Nenad Krstic.
The Trail Blazers return to the friendly confines of the Rose Garden on Tuesday night when they host the Atlanta Hawks. The opening tip is scheduled for 7:00 PST, and this will mark the first game against an Eastern Conference opponent.