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01.02.09 TRAIL BLAZERS VS. HORNETS
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BY MIKE ACKER
PORTLAND, ORE -- The Portland Trail Blazers (20-13) were outscored 31-19 in the fourth quarter and fell to the New Orleans Hornets (20-9) 92-77 in front of 20,708 fans at the Rose Garden Friday night.
Portland played their second game in a row without All-Star guard Brandon Roy, who was inactive due to a sore hamstring. Rudy Fernandez made his second straight start, and finished with a team-high 19 points.
The Trail Blazers came out slowly, falling behind 31-22 with 6:54 remaining in the second period, and closing out the opening half 45-43. Fernandez shot 3-of-4 in the second quarter, including 2-of-3 from behind the three-point line, to finish with 12 points at the half.
In the third quarter a minor fracas between Portland center Joel Przybilla and Hornet’s center Tyson Chandler broke out, momentarily stalling play, and ratcheting up the game’s intensity.
Chandler took offense to a hard slap from Przybilla, and hit him across the chest with a forearm. The altercation was broken-up by Portland’s players, head coach Nate McMillan and the officials. After consulting a video re-play Chandler’s foul was upgraded from a technical to a flagrant two, resulting in his ejection. Portland held a 54-51 lead at the time.
The game entered the final 12 minutes with the score tied for the second night in a row. This time, however, it would be the opposing team that would come up with all the big plays. Hilton Armstrong, in the game for the ejected Chandler, shot 5-of-5 from the field, finishing the quarter with 10 of his 12 points.
Hornet’s point guard Chris Paul hit a three-point shot with 5:05 remaining in the game, giving New Orleans the lead 77-67, and sending many Trail Blazer fans home early.
“In the last quarter they put the ball in Chris Paul’s hands,” McMillan, who coached Paul at the Beijing Olympics, said. “Its tough to defend a player like Paul when he’s making shots.”
Paul finished the night with 17 points and 11 assists, netting 13 of his points in the second half.
LaMarcus Aldridge recorded his sixth double-double, scoring 13 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Travis Outlaw added 16 points, and Przybilla scored 10 points to round out Portland’s top scorers.
“(The Hornets) showed why they are one of the best teams in the league,” Przybilla said. “Defensively they were as good as it got tonight.”
Portland goes on the road for their next match-up, January 4th against the Lakers in Los Angeles.
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NATE MCMILLAN
We played at their tempo pretty much the whole game. They rely on ball control and half court sets. If you get yourself in a game like that you have to hit shots. We didn’t and they did and that was pretty much the story.
“When we had the lead I think we had three or four possessions in a row when we didn’t score. We had a five point lead after Tyson Chandler was ejected. I felt that would give us momentum. But we just missed shots and they got on a rhythm.
“Then in the last quarter they put the ball in Chris Paul’s hands. Its tough to defend a player like Paul when he’s making shots. He hit a ‘three’ and that seemed to make our defense adjust and he could work the pick and roll so effectively with David West.
“We wanted to get the ball inside to Greg and L.A. (Aldridge) but we never really established our bigs. This was so different than the other night when everybody played well and we shot well. To win these games against this kind of opposition (Boston and New Orleans), we need to have everybody play well. I thought Bayless did try to get to the hoop a few times but he couldn’t finish. Rudy had a nice game and his shot was falling early. But we just needed to get something from others. At the end our defense broke down and we lost Posey and Stojakovic on some threes. But overall, it’s a fact that we couldn’t change the tempo. Against a team like New Orleans we’ve just got to move the ball quicker.”
STEVE BLAKE
“They played good defense. We didn’t make shots. A little bit of everything. They took advantage of how we were playing defense. Chris made some big shots because we were going under the screens.
About Joel
“I thought it was good. Joel is a tough guy. He wouldn’t take anything from him. That’s the way the games go some times. Throughout the season you’re going to have some scuffles here and there and we know we’ve got each other’s back so we know we’ll be there for them.”
JOEL PRZYBILLA
“Both teams were going at it. We both wanted to play big games. Definitely they controlled the tempo. That’s what won the game (for them). That’s what Nate was talking about. They totally controlled the game. Unfortunately they followed their game plan and we didn’t follow ours. That’s what won it for them.
“We have a big one Sunday (against the Lakers) so we have to get to work tomorrow. We’ve got to play our tempo, get the ball up our way, push it.
“(Chris Paul) showed why he is one of the best players in the league. He really got it going in the fourth quarter. They showed why they are one of the best teams in the league. Defensively they were as good as it got tonight.”
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• The home team had won the previous nine games in the series … New Orleans last beat Portland at the Rose Garden on Feb. 26, 2006 (88-75).
• Portland’s 77 points were its second-lowest output this season (76, at L.A. Lakers, Oct. 28).
• Rudy Fernandez led Portland in scoring for the third time this season … He tallied 10 points in the second quarter alone (3-4 FG) … It marked the highest point total for Fernandez since his career-high 25 at Miami on Nov. 12 … The Spaniard was the only Trail Blazer to make a three-pointer (3-7) through three quarters.
• LaMarcus Aldridge notched his sixth double-double of the season (second on team) … Aldridge has now scored in double digits in 22 straight games.
• The Trail Blazers have trailed at halftime in each of their last four games (2-2).
• The Portland bench hit 10 of 17 shots for 23 points in the first half, outscoring the starters by three.
• Travis Outlaw led all reserves with 16 points … He has tallied 10-plus points in four straight games (14.5 ppg) … Outlaw has posted back-to-back games of 15 or more points for the first time this season.
• The Trail Blazers’ 15-point loss is tied for its second-largest defeat of the season (20, at L.A. Lakers, Oct. 28)
• Portland’s 19 defensive rebounds tied a season low.
• The Trail Blazers were outscored by more points in the fourth quarter (15) than in any other game this year.
• Portland has shot 7-for-31 (22.6%) from long range in the last two games.
• New Orleans’ six made free throws and seven attempts marked Portland opponent season lows … The Hornets made just eight free throws on 10 attempts vs. Portland on Nov. 28 (both tied for previous lows).
• The Hornets are now 14-1 when shooting 45% or better from the floor.
• New Orleans scored an opponent-high tying 31 points in the fourth quarter.
• David West led all players with 25 points … His 15 first-half points led all scorers.
• Tyson Chandler was ejected last year in Portland on Nov. 7 … He fouled out in the first game between the teams this year at the Rose Garden on Nov. 28.
• Hilton Armstrong made all five of his shots after coming into the game for ejected Tyson Chandler (he finished 6-6).
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