tlongII
10-31-2010, 12:39 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2010/10/portland_100_new_york_95_trail.html
http://media.oregonlive.com/blazers_impact/photo/9008525-large.jpg
Brandon Roy scored freely on Knicks defenders, including Raymond Felton, on his way to a season-high 29 points.
NEW YORK – The can-you-believe-it Trail Blazers season continued in dramatic fashion Saturday when yet another fourth quarter flurry propelled the team to a 100-95 victory against New York, giving the Blazers their first 3-0 start in 11 years.
The Blazers trailed 92-83 with 5:32 left, but closed the game on a 17-3 run thanks to big offensive plays from Andre Miller and LaMarcus Aldridge and huge defensive stands by Nicolas Batum and Marcus Camby.
The Blazers this season have trailed in the fourth quarter by six against Phoenix, four at the Clippers and nine at the Knicks. Against Phoenix, the Blazers closed the game on an 18-1 run, and against the Clippers it was a 15-0 run that reversed the tide.
In the final 5:35 of the game this season, the Blazers have outscored their opponents by a combined 49-12.
"I think we are wearing teams down," Camby said, crediting the team's preseason conditioning. "We don't like to be in that position, but we know that winning these close games in the fourth quarter can only help us down the road."
Brandon Roy led the Blazers with 29 points – 15 of them coming in the third quarter – and both Aldridge (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Miller (19 points, 10 assists) posted double-doubles. Wesley Matthews added 13 points off the bench.
The game was decided by two defensive stands by the Blazers in the final 24 seconds, and the team's top two defenders grabbed the spotlight: Batum and Camby.
Leading 96-95 with 24.5 seconds left, the Blazers braced for the cutting attacks of point guard Raymond Felton and Stoudemire. It was Felton who drove hard to the right, but he was met by Camby and from the weakside, Batum. His shot was smothered at the backboard and corralled by Aldridge, who called timeout.
The official statiticians gave the block to Camby, but as the team ran to congratulate the veteran under the basket Camby emphatically pointed to Batum and repeatedly said "That's Nic. That's Nic."
After the game, as a horde of media surrounded Camby's locker, a shirtless Batum emerged from studying a statistics sheet in the trainer's room and called three times to Camby. When the veteran finally heard him, Batum smiled.
"Camby, they gave it to you," Batum said. "But that's OK."
"Aww, Nic. I can't steal your thunder," Camby said.
Later, Batum said he was just inside of Camby, who was on his back, and indeed got the block.
"It's more important that we win the game," Batum said. "But he said, 'That's Nic! That's Nic. I appreciate it. I say 'thank you."'
There was still one more defensive stand to make, however.
After Aldridge made only 1-of-2 free throws for the second consecutive possession, giving the Blazers a 97-95 lead with 14.8 seconds left, the Knicks called timeout and diagramed a play for Stoudemire, their big offseason free agent signee.
Stoudemire, who last season with Phoenix tormented the Blazers during the playoffs, got the ball at the top of the key and drove to his left against Camby. As he went up for a driving layin, Camby swiped at the ball as Stoudemire brought it to his waist. Camby connected, jarring the ball loose out of bounds with 6.5 seconds left.
Initially, referee Zach Zarba awarded the ball to the Knicks, much to the protest of Camby, who pointed to his thigh to indicate the ball went off Stoudemire's leg. It was convincing enough that Zarba ordered a video review, which revealed the ball going off of Stoudemire.
"Good thing for instant replay, right?" Camby quipped.
Said Stoudemire: "I thought there was contact on the initial drive, but they let him get away with that sometimes."
It was a decision that paid off for coach Nate McMillan, who used Camby and Aldridge during last year's playoffs. This time, he went purely with Camby.
"Late in the game he said 'I've got Amar'e.' Whenever you hear a guy say that, you're not really leaving any doubt," Roy said. "It's like, Camby has Amare, and we just have to do a good job of helping."
The Blazers got to those final two possessions largely because of Miller, who was crafty and cunning in the fourth. He hit a rare three-pointer and knocked down two game-sealing free-throws with 5.9 seconds left and the Blazers clinging to a two-point lead. He had 10 points and five assists in the quarter, and recorded two of his three steals, including a key strip of Stoudemire during the Blazers' comeback.
So even though the Blazers were beaten badly on the boards (51-41), and squandered a 12-point second-quarter lead, they continue to strangle opponents with smothering runs late in the game. It's the first 3-0 start since the 1999-2000 team, which went on to win 59 games and advance to Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.
"We have a different patience about ourselves," Roy said. "In that fourth quarter, we looked around and felt it was still our game. It was six, seven points but we felt it was our game to win."
http://media.oregonlive.com/blazers_impact/photo/9008525-large.jpg
Brandon Roy scored freely on Knicks defenders, including Raymond Felton, on his way to a season-high 29 points.
NEW YORK – The can-you-believe-it Trail Blazers season continued in dramatic fashion Saturday when yet another fourth quarter flurry propelled the team to a 100-95 victory against New York, giving the Blazers their first 3-0 start in 11 years.
The Blazers trailed 92-83 with 5:32 left, but closed the game on a 17-3 run thanks to big offensive plays from Andre Miller and LaMarcus Aldridge and huge defensive stands by Nicolas Batum and Marcus Camby.
The Blazers this season have trailed in the fourth quarter by six against Phoenix, four at the Clippers and nine at the Knicks. Against Phoenix, the Blazers closed the game on an 18-1 run, and against the Clippers it was a 15-0 run that reversed the tide.
In the final 5:35 of the game this season, the Blazers have outscored their opponents by a combined 49-12.
"I think we are wearing teams down," Camby said, crediting the team's preseason conditioning. "We don't like to be in that position, but we know that winning these close games in the fourth quarter can only help us down the road."
Brandon Roy led the Blazers with 29 points – 15 of them coming in the third quarter – and both Aldridge (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Miller (19 points, 10 assists) posted double-doubles. Wesley Matthews added 13 points off the bench.
The game was decided by two defensive stands by the Blazers in the final 24 seconds, and the team's top two defenders grabbed the spotlight: Batum and Camby.
Leading 96-95 with 24.5 seconds left, the Blazers braced for the cutting attacks of point guard Raymond Felton and Stoudemire. It was Felton who drove hard to the right, but he was met by Camby and from the weakside, Batum. His shot was smothered at the backboard and corralled by Aldridge, who called timeout.
The official statiticians gave the block to Camby, but as the team ran to congratulate the veteran under the basket Camby emphatically pointed to Batum and repeatedly said "That's Nic. That's Nic."
After the game, as a horde of media surrounded Camby's locker, a shirtless Batum emerged from studying a statistics sheet in the trainer's room and called three times to Camby. When the veteran finally heard him, Batum smiled.
"Camby, they gave it to you," Batum said. "But that's OK."
"Aww, Nic. I can't steal your thunder," Camby said.
Later, Batum said he was just inside of Camby, who was on his back, and indeed got the block.
"It's more important that we win the game," Batum said. "But he said, 'That's Nic! That's Nic. I appreciate it. I say 'thank you."'
There was still one more defensive stand to make, however.
After Aldridge made only 1-of-2 free throws for the second consecutive possession, giving the Blazers a 97-95 lead with 14.8 seconds left, the Knicks called timeout and diagramed a play for Stoudemire, their big offseason free agent signee.
Stoudemire, who last season with Phoenix tormented the Blazers during the playoffs, got the ball at the top of the key and drove to his left against Camby. As he went up for a driving layin, Camby swiped at the ball as Stoudemire brought it to his waist. Camby connected, jarring the ball loose out of bounds with 6.5 seconds left.
Initially, referee Zach Zarba awarded the ball to the Knicks, much to the protest of Camby, who pointed to his thigh to indicate the ball went off Stoudemire's leg. It was convincing enough that Zarba ordered a video review, which revealed the ball going off of Stoudemire.
"Good thing for instant replay, right?" Camby quipped.
Said Stoudemire: "I thought there was contact on the initial drive, but they let him get away with that sometimes."
It was a decision that paid off for coach Nate McMillan, who used Camby and Aldridge during last year's playoffs. This time, he went purely with Camby.
"Late in the game he said 'I've got Amar'e.' Whenever you hear a guy say that, you're not really leaving any doubt," Roy said. "It's like, Camby has Amare, and we just have to do a good job of helping."
The Blazers got to those final two possessions largely because of Miller, who was crafty and cunning in the fourth. He hit a rare three-pointer and knocked down two game-sealing free-throws with 5.9 seconds left and the Blazers clinging to a two-point lead. He had 10 points and five assists in the quarter, and recorded two of his three steals, including a key strip of Stoudemire during the Blazers' comeback.
So even though the Blazers were beaten badly on the boards (51-41), and squandered a 12-point second-quarter lead, they continue to strangle opponents with smothering runs late in the game. It's the first 3-0 start since the 1999-2000 team, which went on to win 59 games and advance to Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.
"We have a different patience about ourselves," Roy said. "In that fourth quarter, we looked around and felt it was still our game. It was six, seven points but we felt it was our game to win."