NBA Recap: Portland Trail Blazers 96 - Golden State Warriors 95
LaMarcus Aldridge led six Portland Players in double-figures with 17 points and 12 rebounds, as the Portland Trail Blazers held off the Golden State Warriors 96-95 at Rose Garden.
Andre Miller also contributed with his 17 points in the season’s 14th victory for the Blazers. Dante Cunningham and Wesley Matthews posted 13 points apiece.
Monta Ellis did all he could and scored a game-high 26 points for the losing team. Reggie Williams chipped in with 16 points and David Lee contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Game Story
The Blazers entered the court without few of the key players due to injuries however, they controlled every aspect of the game and held off the Golden State Warriors with just nine available players.
“Being shorthanded it was tough,” “We definitely needed everybody.” said forward Dante Cunningham.
It was the most balanced score sheet of the year for the Blazers, who had six players scoring between 12 and 17 points.
Both teams started ice cold, but Portland managed to make it to the free throw line early, to help build a quick lead. The Blazers held a 21-18 lead after one quarter, holding the Warriors to 30 percent shooting average.
In the second quarter, Portland got it going offensively and Ellis scored 2-of-9 as the Warriors fell behind 51-42 at the first half of the game.
With four minutes left in the third, Matthew’s dunk widened the lead to 69-54 and it was 74-65 heading into the fourth.
The Blazers led by 15 in the second half and a three-pointer from Patrick Mills moved the difference back to 15 at 86-71 with 7:54 to go.
However, the Warriors narrowed it to 92-89 through Rodney Carney's 3-pointer with 3:14 left. Miller took full advantage of the available free throw and extended the lead by 95-89 for the Blazers.
No doubt, Aldridge played fantastically for the Blazers, but he missed a key jumper with 9.9 seconds to go in the game. Mathews also missed a jumper.
After Matthews and Aldridge missed jumpers, the Warriors had one final chance. That provided the Warriors with a chance to win it on the other end, but Monta Ellis' long jumper with 0.8 seconds left was off and fell into the hands of Portland’s Rudy Fernandez
to end it for the Blazer’s. This was their fifth straight victory at home.
While talking about the dramatic ending of the game, Portland’s coach Nate McMillan said, “It comes down to one play. Amazing how you play almost 48 minutes and it comes down to eight seconds. We needed to make a stop, and we did."
Climax of the Game
With Portland ahead 92-89 inside three minutes to go, Andre Miller drove the lane, was bumped, and in the process, made a shot in the air. Adding to that, he made the free throw as well to give the Blazers a 95-89 lead, just about enough to seal the victory.
High-Powered Blazers
Portland’s forward, Sean Marks scored on a follow dunk and knocked down back-to-back 20-footers from the top of the circle. He finished with 6 points and 5 rebounds in 16 minutes.
Andre Miller had another perfect performance with 17 points, 8 assists, 4 steals, and 3 rebounds while committing no turnovers in 28 minutes.
Portland's Injury woes
Four key Blazers were invisible due to main injures. Brandon Roy (knee), Marcus Camby (shoulder), Nicolas Batum (shoulder), and Joel Przybilla (ankle) all sat out the game for the Portland.
On the flurry of injuries that have disorganized the Portland team, McMillan said, "I've needed a little help to get to sleep at night. Ambien has been a friend the last week."
Tags: