BY MIKE ACKER
Portland, Ore -- The Portland Trail Blazers (1-1) saw a 12-point lead dwindle in the fourth quarter against the San Antonio Spurs (0-2) but came away with a 100-99 victory in front of a festively dressed sellout crowd of 20,151 at the Rose Garden.
The Trail Blazers had lost the 12 previous meetings to the Spurs prior to Friday night's victory. The win was also Portland's eighth-straight home opener win.
Portland regrouped and refocused after a disappointing season opener on the road at Los Angeles. With starting center Greg Oden out for at least two weeks with a foot injury, Portland used a varied offensive attack that saw five players finish in double figures.
Brandon Roy led the way, connecting on 10-of-18 field goal attempts and finishing with 26 points in 35 minutes. Late in the fourth quarter the Trail Blazers saw their 12-point lead cut to a single point. Roy, under pressure, found LaMarcus Aldridge at the top of the key for a long two that put Portland up three with just over half a minute to play. Aldridge finished the night 10-of-22 with 23 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots
Rookie forward Nicolas Batum provided energy off the bench in the second unit.
"I thought Nicolas gave us a really big lift," said head coach Nate McMillan, "particularly on the boards."
Batum put up eight points in eight minutes in the second quarter, finishing with 12 points in a little over 24 minutes. Batum's play helped the Trail Blazers push their first half lead to six, a lead that would reach 12 shortly after the start of the fourth period.
The Trail Blazers entered the final period of the night leading by eight, but the lead quickly evaporated thanks to five San Antonio three-point baskets. With 1:29 remaining, Spurs guard Tony Parker connected on a lay-up, giving the Spurs their only lead of the quarter.
On the next possession, Roy was fouled by San Antonio forward Roger Mason. The Trail Blazers regained the lead on his two made free throws. Center Joel Przybilla, getting the start in place of Oden, won a jump ball against Spurs center Tim Duncan, setting up Roy's assist to Aldridge. Aldridge's bucket made the Blazers lead three, and brought the Rose Garden crowd to itheir collective feet.
Two free throws on the other end from Parker closed the gap to one. Travis Outlaw, getting his second straight start and finishing with 11 points, missed a driving lay-up, and the rebound fell to former Trail Blazer Ime Udoka. Udoka passed ahead to Mason, who found Michael Finley near the basket with just seconds remaining. His 15-footer banged off the rim as time expired, giving the Trail Blazers their first win of the season.
"They had a good look at the end," McMillan said of Finley's final shot, "but when you play as hard as we did sometimes you make your own break."
Channing Frye also provided a spark from the bench. Playing at the center position in the second unit, Frye finished with 10 points to round out the Trail Blazers top five in scoring, two of which came on an emphatic dunk.
"I think the maturity on this team is getting better and we're coming together," Frye said following the game. "I think it's a testament for this team coming back."
"We needed this win," Roy said. "We stepped up. We beat one of the best teams in the NBA."
The Trail Blazers travel to Phoenix on Saturday to play the Suns. You can watch the game on Comcast Sports NW and listen on 95.5fm THE GAME.
