The Portland Trail Blazers (13-6) fought through ice-cold shooting in the first half to eventually defeat the New York Knicks (8-9) 104-97 at Madison Square Garden. The win, Portland’s fifth-straight, moved the Trail Blazers to 6-0 versus teams from the Eastern Conference.
Brandon Roy, as he has done so many times already this season, kept Portland in the game early seemingly through seer will alone. Roy, who also added six rebounds, five assists and three steals, scored 15 of his game-high 23 points in the first half. Roy’s scoring in the first half helped the Blazers overcome a miserable start, as Portland shot just 36 percent from the field before the intermission. Despite poor overall shooting and a 14-0 Knick run, Portland trailed by only two going into the second half.
The effects of playing a seven-man rotation caught up with the Knicks late in the game, as the Trail Blazers went on a 14-0 run of their own to take a lead they would never relinquish. An important sequence in that run saw Joel Przybilla hit a jump hook, followed by Rudy Fernandez hitting two free throws, then a Przybilla block and capped with a Fernandez three-pointer.
Przybilla finished with eight points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Fernandez broke out of a shooting slump with 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.
"Tonight we had the movement and kept pushing,” said head coach Nate McMillan. “Joel did a nice job defending the perimeter and the basket. We had to attack and started to be more aggressive. We build in a rhythm and set more screens; started to get penetration to the basket. We were able to stay in control of the game. We didn’t see our guys panic – we stayed clear and under control."
LaMarcus Aldridge added 17 points and six rebounds. Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw rounded out Portland’s double-digit scorers, each finishing with 16 points.
New York guard Chris Duhon lead the Knicks with 23 points and 16 assists in a game-high 43 minutes.
The Trail Blazers continue their five-game Eastern Conference swing on Wednesday against the Washington Wizards.
