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03.26.09 TRAIL BLAZERS VS. SUNS
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LaMarcus Aldridge is steadily getting to where he - and Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan - believes he can be.
Aldridge scored a season-high 29 points and added 12 rebounds to help Portland snap the Phoenix Suns' six-game winning streak with a 129-109 victory Thursday night. With the win, the Trail Blazers’ magic number stands at six. Any combination of Portland victories or Phoenix loses totaling that number will assure the Trail Blazers of their first playoff birth since 2003.
Aldridge and the Trail Blazers are sitting at sixth in the Western Conference, in a tangle of teams jockeying for position behind the leading Los Angeles Lakers.
“I thought we played great,” said Nate McMillan. “We really rose to the occasion. I told the guys before the game that we were either going to play our way into the playoffs or play our way out. And I thought they responded to show that they were ready to take control.”
Phoenix, making a late push for the playoffs, is ninth in the Western Conference - 3 1/2 games behind Dallas.
"We cut ourselves into a deep hole with too many mistakes, and they capitalized on out mistakes,'' said Shaquille O'Neal, who had 20 points for the Suns. "We left their shooters open way too much and they knocked down the shots. They had a lot of energy.''
Portland led 100-79 after three quarters, following Rudy Fernandez's jumper and buzzer-beating 3-pointer from 25 feet. The Suns sat their starters most of the rest of the way.
Fernandez came off the bench to score 23 points. The rookie from Spain made a career-high five 3-pointers, moving him into seventh all-time for three-pointers made in a season by an NBA rookie with 138.
“Every game for me is new,” said Fernandez. “Seventy two games in Europe is not normal. Right now I’m prepared for the last games. It is working for us.”
Brandon Roy added 26 points and nine rebounds for the Blazers, who led by as many as 29 points.
"It felt good,'' Roy said. "It was a fun game to play, and it was a fun game to sit on the bench and cheer.''
The Suns were coming off a 118-114 home victory over the Jazz the night before. After scoring 26 points in that game, Hill had just six against Portland.
The Trail Blazers were coming off a 114-108 overtime loss to Philadelphia on Monday night. Roy was off, with just 12 points, and it hurt Portland. The two-time All-Star shrugged off whatever was bothering him against the Suns, jumping out with nine first-quarter points to set the tone.
The matchup between O'Neal and Greg Oden got off to a bad start for the rookie, when O'Neal twirled around him for the basket and the foul.
But Oden had two key blocks in the second quarter and Portland built a 40-33 lead after Travis Outlaw's dunk. The Blazers led 57-65 at the half.
Steve Blake's floater put Portland up 71-61 early in the second half, and Aldridge extended it to 87-74 on a fast-break layup.
Oden's hook shot made it 91-74, capping a 12-4 Portland run.
"We can't blame tonight on not having our legs,'' O'Neal said. "We have to fight through it. A lot of teams play back-to-backs, a lot of teams get in late. When we step on the court we have to be ready to play.''
The Suns beat the Trail Blazers twice this season in Phoenix, but lost in Portland on Dec. 18 when Roy took off with a career-high 52 points in a 124-119 victory. It snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Suns. Portland swept Phoenix at home for the first time since the 1998-99 season.
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NATE MCMILLAN
“I thought we played great. We really rose to the occasion. I told the guys before the game that we were either going to play our way into the playoffs or play our way out. And I thought they responded to show that they were ready to take control.
“Our ball movement was great. We had a controlled tempo which produced open looks by our shooters. Those were the shots that didn’t fall for us against Philly but they were falling for us tonight. I thought our defense locked down on Phoenix and made them do things in their offense that they normally don’t like to do. They were playing the second game in two nights and we looked fairly fresh. I think the fact that we gave our team the day off Tuesday after our long road trip helped us tonight.
“Everybody contributed but LaMarcus was especially good. We knew Phoenix would have a tough time matching up with him. He did a great job of establishing the post for us, was aggressive and gave us a lot of opportunities in the paint.
“Rudy, of course, was terrific. He is one player who can open up a zone defense. Phoenix prefers to play a zone and stick with the zone no matter how many perimeter shots you get out of it. When teams do that against us, its good to have a player like Rudy out on the floor because he can open up that zone.
“I think LaMarcus is growing in his game so well that he’s pretty much able to get a double-double on any given night (29 points, 12 rebounds against Phoenix). I think he will be able to dominate in this league as he develops. Nicolas Batum gave us a pretty big lift with his floor game and his effort in the first quarter. He had a really sore ankle but he played through it and was impressive in getting to the ball, defending Jason Richardson and getting down on the floor to capture some loose balls for us.But in the third quarter I didn’t want to play him because of his sore ankle.”
BRANDON ROY
“Our defense played great tonight. They made shots but we made contested shots. That was our thing all night. We made them make tough shots tonight. We wanted to give ourselves to get some shots, to get out on the fast break, and give ourselves a chance to win. I just wanted to have an all around game tonight. I knew they would do some things to take me out of the game. They went zone which was good. My thing was to be aggressive then to make plays for my teammates, rebound the basketball and just have a complete game.”
RUDY FERNANDEZ
“Right now I feel better with treatment (referring to his shoulder). Every game for me is new. Seventy two games in Europe is not normal. Right now I’m prepared for the last games. It is working for us. The odds of going to the playoffs is good. The last games are important for us. Everybody played good. Nick, Travis, LaMarcus. Joel played great defense against O’Neal.”
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• LaMarcus Aldridge netted a season-high 29 points … He notched his team-leading 18th double-double ... Aldridge tied a season high with three blocked shots.
• Rudy Fernandez made a career-best five three-pointers … Fernandez moved into seventh all-time for three-pointers made in a season by an NBA rookie with 138 … He has a three-pointer in all 34 of his games at the Rose Garden ... Fernandez’s 23 points were his second-highest point total this year and marked the third 20-point game of his career … His 42 points the last two games are the most he has posted in back-to-back games this year.
• Portland scored a season-best 129 points on a season-high 50 field goals … Portland shot a season-best 60.2% from the field … The Trail Blazers’ 100 points after three quarters were its most entering the fourth quarter this year.
• The Trail Blazers swept the Suns at home for the first season since 1998-99.
• Portland is now a season-high 18 games above .500 for the third time this year.
• With tonight’s win, the Trail Blazers clinched their fifth consecutive winning month this season, a feat last accomplished in a single season in 1991-92.
• Portland improved to 9-3 at home against the top nine teams in the Western Conference standings.
• The Trail Blazers are now 18-4 when playing against a team in the second game of a back-to-back ... Every opponent on Portland’s current four-game homestand will be playing in its second game in as many days.
• The Trail Blazers have not lost all season when leading at halftime at the Rose Garden (22-0) ... Portland is 19-2 at home when outscoring its opponent in the first quarter.
• Portland has eight wins of 20-plus points this year, four more than it accumulated all of last season.
• The Trail Blazers tied a season high with 65 points in the first half.
• The Trail Blazers’ 10 blocks tied a season high.
• Portland’s 62 points in the paint marked a season high … The Suns’ 68 points in the painted area also marked a season high for a Trail Blazers opponent.
• Brandon Roy tied a season high with nine rebounds.
• Nicolas Batum tied a career high with four offensive rebounds … Batum had three offensive rebounds in the first quarter alone.
• Sergio Rodriguez’s game-high eight assists were the most he has recorded since Jan. 24 (eight) ... He has now led Portland in assists 19 times this season.
• Stromile Swift scored a season-best 12 points.
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