tlongII
01-09-2012, 10:11 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2012/01/portland_98_cleveland_78_blazers_finally_find_thei .html
http://media.oregonlive.com/blazers_impact/photo/blazersx09jpegjpg-ea9b11b92094168b.jpg
The Blazers' Nicolas Batum (88) takes a shot under pressure from the Cavaliers. Batum scored 11 points in over 20 minutes of action Sunday.
On one side of the Trail Blazers' locker room, Gerald Wallace playfully mocked and mimicked Raymond Felton as he answered questions from reporters.
On the other side of the room, Wesley Matthews sheepishly detailed how he came up with the "Three Shooter" act that follows every one of his made three-pointers.
The Blazers did not bring their "A" game Sunday night, but they brought enough to overwhelm the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-78 before a sellout crowd of 20,292 at the Rose Garden. And afterward, they soaked it all in, flipping the page on a disastrous outing at Phoenix while regaining their mojo in a commanding, though imperfect, victory over the Cavaliers.
"You can't dwell on the game," Wallace said of the Blazers' 25-point loss to the Suns. "You have a bad game, you have a bad game. You keep going."
But it took a little while for the Blazers to get going Sunday night. Through the better part of two quarters, the Blazers looked every bit like that lethargic, confused and overwhelmed team routed in Phoenix. If point guard Felton wasn't tossing uncatchable passes at the feet of LaMarcus Aldridge in the lane, Aldridge was chucking rushed shots off the backboard.
In one forgettable back-and-forth that summed up the first half for both teams, Cavaliers' forward Omri Casspi passed the ball directly to Wallace instead of a teammate during a possession and Wallace sprinted toward the other end for a fast break. Then Wallace promptly gave the ball back to Cleveland with a pass aimed directly at Antawn Jamison.
With less than four minutes left in the first half, the Blazers trailed 32-30 and the teams had combined to make 25 of 75 shots (33.3 percent). After flashing so much excitement throughout this early part of the season, the Blazers were in the middle of a snooze-fest.
But with a combination of better defense, trademark energy from Wallace, scoring from Aldridge -- and Cleveland's ineptitude -- the Blazers (6-2) overcame their own sluggish start with a commanding second-half performance. By the time the night was over, the Blazers had racked up 50 points in the paint, forced Cleveland into 24 turnovers and accumulated 22 fast-break points.
The Cavaliers (4-4) entered the game allowing the fewest fast-break points in the NBA (42).
Aldridge finished with 28 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. Matthews -- the only Blazers player who showed up from the opening tip -- had 24 points and three assists, and Wallace added 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
"I just felt we had to work harder," coach Nate McMillan said of the turnaround. "We needed to dig down and work harder on both ends of the floor. Defensively, we were kind of just like in a daze, kind of flat. We looked very similar to the Phoenix game. Then we got going."
Thanks in part to the explosive energy of Wallace, who continued his Jekyll and Hyde home and road play with another solid home effort. In five games at the Rose Garden, Wallace is averaging 21.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting a blistering 63.5 percent from the field. But in three games away from the Rose Garden, Wallace is averaging 4.7 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting an abysmal 16 percent.
In the Blazers' two losses -- both on the road -- Wallace scored one point, missing all 11 of his field-goal attempts. One constant of this young season is that the Blazers play their best when Wallace swarms around the court, forcing steals, finishing fast breaks and playing what McMillan calls "reckless" basketball. The next step is for Wallace to harness this recklessness on the road.
"The season is an adjustment," Wallace said, explaining his road struggles. "So I've got to find my routine and my rhythm of what I can do on the road to kind of amp myself up on the road. It's something mentally that I'm going through, that I've got to figure out and hopefully get it turned around."
But he wasn't too eager to dwell on that Sunday night, preferring instead to lightheartedly harass Felton as he answered questions in the postgame locker room. Because even though Felton struggled, making 1 of 9 field goals and committing five turnovers, and even though the Blazers sleepwalked through most of the first half, they had enough to win convincingly. Which leads back to Matthews.
After hopping on the "Three Goggles," bandwagon that former point guard Patty Mills spearheaded last season, Matthews had to create something new for 2011-12. So after talking it over with Nicolas Batum, he settled on the new move, in which he flashes three fingers high in the air after a made three-pointer and then pushes his hand down into an invisible holster at his hip.
Matthews, who scored the Blazers' first seven points of the game, flashed his "Three Shooter" three times Sunday night.
"It just kind of happened," Matthews said. "Can't do the goggles anymore because Patty's gone and he was pretty much the founder of it. Something goofy. Something to do. Something for the fans mainly."
Notes: The Blazers improved to 4-0 at home. ... McMillan left his starters in the game late in the fourth quarter even though the Blazers led by more than 20 points. When asked why he did so, McMillan took exception: "Give me a break on that. When do you sub? It's five minutes to go in the game. Our subs gave up 10 points in two minutes. I think you guys read too much into that. The bottom line is to win the ballgame." ... No. 1 overall draft pick Kyrie Irving had a career-high 21 points and four assists for Cleveland. ... The Cavaliers shot 36.7 percent -- the lowest this season for a Blazers opponent -- and 12.5 percent from three-point range.
http://media.oregonlive.com/blazers_impact/photo/blazersx09jpegjpg-ea9b11b92094168b.jpg
The Blazers' Nicolas Batum (88) takes a shot under pressure from the Cavaliers. Batum scored 11 points in over 20 minutes of action Sunday.
On one side of the Trail Blazers' locker room, Gerald Wallace playfully mocked and mimicked Raymond Felton as he answered questions from reporters.
On the other side of the room, Wesley Matthews sheepishly detailed how he came up with the "Three Shooter" act that follows every one of his made three-pointers.
The Blazers did not bring their "A" game Sunday night, but they brought enough to overwhelm the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-78 before a sellout crowd of 20,292 at the Rose Garden. And afterward, they soaked it all in, flipping the page on a disastrous outing at Phoenix while regaining their mojo in a commanding, though imperfect, victory over the Cavaliers.
"You can't dwell on the game," Wallace said of the Blazers' 25-point loss to the Suns. "You have a bad game, you have a bad game. You keep going."
But it took a little while for the Blazers to get going Sunday night. Through the better part of two quarters, the Blazers looked every bit like that lethargic, confused and overwhelmed team routed in Phoenix. If point guard Felton wasn't tossing uncatchable passes at the feet of LaMarcus Aldridge in the lane, Aldridge was chucking rushed shots off the backboard.
In one forgettable back-and-forth that summed up the first half for both teams, Cavaliers' forward Omri Casspi passed the ball directly to Wallace instead of a teammate during a possession and Wallace sprinted toward the other end for a fast break. Then Wallace promptly gave the ball back to Cleveland with a pass aimed directly at Antawn Jamison.
With less than four minutes left in the first half, the Blazers trailed 32-30 and the teams had combined to make 25 of 75 shots (33.3 percent). After flashing so much excitement throughout this early part of the season, the Blazers were in the middle of a snooze-fest.
But with a combination of better defense, trademark energy from Wallace, scoring from Aldridge -- and Cleveland's ineptitude -- the Blazers (6-2) overcame their own sluggish start with a commanding second-half performance. By the time the night was over, the Blazers had racked up 50 points in the paint, forced Cleveland into 24 turnovers and accumulated 22 fast-break points.
The Cavaliers (4-4) entered the game allowing the fewest fast-break points in the NBA (42).
Aldridge finished with 28 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. Matthews -- the only Blazers player who showed up from the opening tip -- had 24 points and three assists, and Wallace added 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
"I just felt we had to work harder," coach Nate McMillan said of the turnaround. "We needed to dig down and work harder on both ends of the floor. Defensively, we were kind of just like in a daze, kind of flat. We looked very similar to the Phoenix game. Then we got going."
Thanks in part to the explosive energy of Wallace, who continued his Jekyll and Hyde home and road play with another solid home effort. In five games at the Rose Garden, Wallace is averaging 21.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting a blistering 63.5 percent from the field. But in three games away from the Rose Garden, Wallace is averaging 4.7 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting an abysmal 16 percent.
In the Blazers' two losses -- both on the road -- Wallace scored one point, missing all 11 of his field-goal attempts. One constant of this young season is that the Blazers play their best when Wallace swarms around the court, forcing steals, finishing fast breaks and playing what McMillan calls "reckless" basketball. The next step is for Wallace to harness this recklessness on the road.
"The season is an adjustment," Wallace said, explaining his road struggles. "So I've got to find my routine and my rhythm of what I can do on the road to kind of amp myself up on the road. It's something mentally that I'm going through, that I've got to figure out and hopefully get it turned around."
But he wasn't too eager to dwell on that Sunday night, preferring instead to lightheartedly harass Felton as he answered questions in the postgame locker room. Because even though Felton struggled, making 1 of 9 field goals and committing five turnovers, and even though the Blazers sleepwalked through most of the first half, they had enough to win convincingly. Which leads back to Matthews.
After hopping on the "Three Goggles," bandwagon that former point guard Patty Mills spearheaded last season, Matthews had to create something new for 2011-12. So after talking it over with Nicolas Batum, he settled on the new move, in which he flashes three fingers high in the air after a made three-pointer and then pushes his hand down into an invisible holster at his hip.
Matthews, who scored the Blazers' first seven points of the game, flashed his "Three Shooter" three times Sunday night.
"It just kind of happened," Matthews said. "Can't do the goggles anymore because Patty's gone and he was pretty much the founder of it. Something goofy. Something to do. Something for the fans mainly."
Notes: The Blazers improved to 4-0 at home. ... McMillan left his starters in the game late in the fourth quarter even though the Blazers led by more than 20 points. When asked why he did so, McMillan took exception: "Give me a break on that. When do you sub? It's five minutes to go in the game. Our subs gave up 10 points in two minutes. I think you guys read too much into that. The bottom line is to win the ballgame." ... No. 1 overall draft pick Kyrie Irving had a career-high 21 points and four assists for Cleveland. ... The Cavaliers shot 36.7 percent -- the lowest this season for a Blazers opponent -- and 12.5 percent from three-point range.