tlongII
10-27-2010, 11:25 AM
http://portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=128815924807474700
For 3 1/2 quarters on Tuesday, opening night for the Trail Blazers wasn’t a very happy occasion for Rose Garden denizens.
Phoenix held a 91-88 lead with 5:44 remaining, and the 116th straight sellout crowd at the Garden wasn’t sure what to expect.
Then Portland closed with an 18-1 rush that produced a harder-than-it-sounds 106-92 victory.
“That’s the way you want to finish every game,” said Brandon Roy, who scored a team-high 24 points for the Blazers.
Phoenix didn’t make a field goal after Steve Nash’s driving 3-point play, missing six shots and committing four turnovers over the final 4 1/2 minutes.
The Blazers went into the fourth quarter trailing 81-75 and outscored the Suns 31-11 over the final 12 minutes.
“If you score 11 points in the fourth quarter, it’s hard to win the game,” Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said. “We just couldn’t get the ball in the basket.”
Nicolas Batum was the maestro of the late surge, scoring 11 points over the final 4:25 on 4-of-5 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. The 6-8 small forward collected 19 points and 11 rebounds in only 27 minutes.
“Nic broke it open,” Portland’s Wesley Matthews said. “He started making shots. B-Roy got it going, too. We were just clicking. We were getting rebounds and (the Suns) weren’t getting off as many shots.”
Coach Nate McMillan went small over the final six minutes, inserting Matthews for center Marcus Camby and using Batum at power forward. The move worked like a charm.
“We did a good job in the fourth quarter of settling down, taking away their 3-ball and making them try to beat us at the rim,” Roy said.
For much of the game, Batum was guarded by the 6-3 Nash. Not once did the Frenchman post up the veteran point guard.
“We didn’t get anything out of his post-ups,” McMillan conceded. “Where he punished Nash was on the offensive glass (with five of his rebounds). And he knocked down those 3s late.”
Portland hammered the smaller Suns 48-30 on the backboards, including 18-7 off the offensive glass, and more than doubled the visitors in assists (31-15). And the Blazers — last in the NBA in fastbreak points a year ago — won that battle 13-6 over the get-out-and-go Suns.
Nash hit 10 of 19 shots from the field and scored a game-high 26 points, but dished out only six assists and committed nine turnovers in 35 minutes.
“That’s a good team,” McMillan said. “People are trying to write Phoenix off because Amare (Stoudemire) is gone, but Nash is an unbelievable player.
“Our guys played the game we wanted to play. We stopped turning the ball over, got some penetration, had good ball movement and controlled the boards. And as we got into the game, the defense got stronger.”
Roy struggled with his shot, making 9 of 20 from the field, but was good from long range, sinking 4 of 6 treys. He also couldn’t handle Jason Richardson for three quarters at the other end. Richardson had 22 points through three periods, making 9 of 11 shots, but went scoreless over the final 12 minutes.
McMillan used Matthews, Rudy Fernandez, rookie Armon Johnson and Dante Cunningham together through the middle part of each half, and it was an effective group.
“Our second unit got scrappy,” McMillan said. “Wesley, Rudy and Armon got after the ball defensively, which created some offense.”
Matthews had a nice outing in his first appearance as a Blazer, contributing 13 points, six rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes off the bench.
“I played three, four positions tonight,” said the 6-5 second-year pro, signed as a free agent last summer. “Whatever I can do to help the team win.”
Johnson was impressive in his NBA debut. The second-round draft pick out of Nevada was 3 of 5 from the field, scoring on some nifty moves at the hoop, and finished with six points – all in the fourth quarter – and three assists.
“Armon played nine minutes, but it felt like he was out there forever,” Matthews said. “That’s the kind of impact he had, and that’s what we need.”
“He’s going to make mistakes, but he goes hard,” McMillan complimented. “As long as he brings that type of energy, where he’s scrapping defensively ... he made their guards work bringing the ball up the floor. And offensively, he was able to get to the rim and made some big shots.”
NOTES: Portland begins a stretch of four road games Wednesday night at Staples Center against the L.A. Clippers. ... The Blazers shot a solid .462 from the field and were 10 of 20 on 3-pointers. Phoenix shot well, too — .486 from the field and .474 from 3-point range. The Suns shot .561 through three quarters but made only 4 of 17 shots in the final period. “We had a couple of Kodak moments, where we were standing there with our hands down and (the Suns) had uncontested shots,” McMillan said. ... LaMarcus Aldridge had only eight points and nine rebounds, making 3 of 9 from the field despite having a major size advantage over Phoenix power forward Hedo Turkoglu. “We’re an undersized team, and we did a great job on LaMarcus,” Gentry said. “We’ve got a guy used to playing point forward guarding their 4 man, and that’s a little unfair to him. But that’s who we are and that’s how we’re going to have to play.” ... Marcus Camby collected 13 points and 10 boards for the Blazers. ... Fernandez sank 2 of 4 3-pointers and collected seven points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. “The second line, with Matthews and Armon and me and Dante, we can run,” Fernandez said. “It’s a good situation for us.” ... Newly signed Fabricio Oberto played three second-quarter minutes, going scoreless with one rebound. ... Phoenix had 19 turnovers. Portland finished with 15, but only one in the fourth quarter. Gentry on the Suns’ offensive performance: “We’re not a 92-point team. Some of the credit you have to give to (the Blazers), and some of it we did ourselves.” ... Portland won its 10th straight home opener dating to 2000-01.
For 3 1/2 quarters on Tuesday, opening night for the Trail Blazers wasn’t a very happy occasion for Rose Garden denizens.
Phoenix held a 91-88 lead with 5:44 remaining, and the 116th straight sellout crowd at the Garden wasn’t sure what to expect.
Then Portland closed with an 18-1 rush that produced a harder-than-it-sounds 106-92 victory.
“That’s the way you want to finish every game,” said Brandon Roy, who scored a team-high 24 points for the Blazers.
Phoenix didn’t make a field goal after Steve Nash’s driving 3-point play, missing six shots and committing four turnovers over the final 4 1/2 minutes.
The Blazers went into the fourth quarter trailing 81-75 and outscored the Suns 31-11 over the final 12 minutes.
“If you score 11 points in the fourth quarter, it’s hard to win the game,” Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said. “We just couldn’t get the ball in the basket.”
Nicolas Batum was the maestro of the late surge, scoring 11 points over the final 4:25 on 4-of-5 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range. The 6-8 small forward collected 19 points and 11 rebounds in only 27 minutes.
“Nic broke it open,” Portland’s Wesley Matthews said. “He started making shots. B-Roy got it going, too. We were just clicking. We were getting rebounds and (the Suns) weren’t getting off as many shots.”
Coach Nate McMillan went small over the final six minutes, inserting Matthews for center Marcus Camby and using Batum at power forward. The move worked like a charm.
“We did a good job in the fourth quarter of settling down, taking away their 3-ball and making them try to beat us at the rim,” Roy said.
For much of the game, Batum was guarded by the 6-3 Nash. Not once did the Frenchman post up the veteran point guard.
“We didn’t get anything out of his post-ups,” McMillan conceded. “Where he punished Nash was on the offensive glass (with five of his rebounds). And he knocked down those 3s late.”
Portland hammered the smaller Suns 48-30 on the backboards, including 18-7 off the offensive glass, and more than doubled the visitors in assists (31-15). And the Blazers — last in the NBA in fastbreak points a year ago — won that battle 13-6 over the get-out-and-go Suns.
Nash hit 10 of 19 shots from the field and scored a game-high 26 points, but dished out only six assists and committed nine turnovers in 35 minutes.
“That’s a good team,” McMillan said. “People are trying to write Phoenix off because Amare (Stoudemire) is gone, but Nash is an unbelievable player.
“Our guys played the game we wanted to play. We stopped turning the ball over, got some penetration, had good ball movement and controlled the boards. And as we got into the game, the defense got stronger.”
Roy struggled with his shot, making 9 of 20 from the field, but was good from long range, sinking 4 of 6 treys. He also couldn’t handle Jason Richardson for three quarters at the other end. Richardson had 22 points through three periods, making 9 of 11 shots, but went scoreless over the final 12 minutes.
McMillan used Matthews, Rudy Fernandez, rookie Armon Johnson and Dante Cunningham together through the middle part of each half, and it was an effective group.
“Our second unit got scrappy,” McMillan said. “Wesley, Rudy and Armon got after the ball defensively, which created some offense.”
Matthews had a nice outing in his first appearance as a Blazer, contributing 13 points, six rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes off the bench.
“I played three, four positions tonight,” said the 6-5 second-year pro, signed as a free agent last summer. “Whatever I can do to help the team win.”
Johnson was impressive in his NBA debut. The second-round draft pick out of Nevada was 3 of 5 from the field, scoring on some nifty moves at the hoop, and finished with six points – all in the fourth quarter – and three assists.
“Armon played nine minutes, but it felt like he was out there forever,” Matthews said. “That’s the kind of impact he had, and that’s what we need.”
“He’s going to make mistakes, but he goes hard,” McMillan complimented. “As long as he brings that type of energy, where he’s scrapping defensively ... he made their guards work bringing the ball up the floor. And offensively, he was able to get to the rim and made some big shots.”
NOTES: Portland begins a stretch of four road games Wednesday night at Staples Center against the L.A. Clippers. ... The Blazers shot a solid .462 from the field and were 10 of 20 on 3-pointers. Phoenix shot well, too — .486 from the field and .474 from 3-point range. The Suns shot .561 through three quarters but made only 4 of 17 shots in the final period. “We had a couple of Kodak moments, where we were standing there with our hands down and (the Suns) had uncontested shots,” McMillan said. ... LaMarcus Aldridge had only eight points and nine rebounds, making 3 of 9 from the field despite having a major size advantage over Phoenix power forward Hedo Turkoglu. “We’re an undersized team, and we did a great job on LaMarcus,” Gentry said. “We’ve got a guy used to playing point forward guarding their 4 man, and that’s a little unfair to him. But that’s who we are and that’s how we’re going to have to play.” ... Marcus Camby collected 13 points and 10 boards for the Blazers. ... Fernandez sank 2 of 4 3-pointers and collected seven points, three assists, three steals and two rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. “The second line, with Matthews and Armon and me and Dante, we can run,” Fernandez said. “It’s a good situation for us.” ... Newly signed Fabricio Oberto played three second-quarter minutes, going scoreless with one rebound. ... Phoenix had 19 turnovers. Portland finished with 15, but only one in the fourth quarter. Gentry on the Suns’ offensive performance: “We’re not a 92-point team. Some of the credit you have to give to (the Blazers), and some of it we did ourselves.” ... Portland won its 10th straight home opener dating to 2000-01.