The Portland Trail Blazers (53-28) pulled within one victory of clinching home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder (22-59) 113-83 in front of 20,655 at the Rose Garden Monday night.
Portland has won five straight home games against the Thunder, included 30-point victories in both the teams last two meetings. The Trail Blazers 53 wins are tied for the sixth most in franchise history.
The Trail Blazers came out strong Monday night, looking to set the tone early. Brandon Roy banked home a fast break lay-up off a feed from Steve Blake with 6:22 remaining in the opening quarter, putting the home team ahead 15-6. Portland closed the first quarter with a nine-foot hook shot from Greg Oden with .9 seconds on the clock, giving them a 29-15 lead after 12 minutes.
Travis Outlaw, starting for Nicolas Batum who was sidelined with an illness, led all scorers after the opening quarter with nine points.
Portland continued to extend their lead in the second quarter. Blake hit a driving lay-up with 40.9 seconds remaining in the first half, entering halftime with their largest lead of the first half at 62-31.
“Our guys came out with a professional approach,” head coach Nate McMillan said. “When you only give up 31 points in a half you know you’ve really clamped down on defense.”
The home team had three players in double figures in scoring at the half. Outlaw led the team with 13 points, Roy added 11 points, and Oden contributed 10 points at the break.
The Trail Blazers managed to keep their distance in the third quarter. Oklahoma City got its closest on a running jump shot from Kevin Durant with 54.4 seconds remaining in the third period, cutting the gap to 83-55 in favor of Portland. The Trail Blazers entered the final period of the evening leading 85-55.
Portland’s starters got some much-needed rest as Monday night’s contest wound to a close. Outlaw was the only starter to log time in the game’s final quarter, getting subbed out for Jerryd Bayless at the 11:14 mark of the fourth period. Every active Trail Blazer played at least six minutes, and scored at least one field goal. Michael Ruffin tipped in an offensive rebound with 3:10 left in the game, giving Portland their largest lead of the night at 108-73.
“We wanted to get our guys no more than two or three quarters of play,” McMillan said. “We have some guys that need time on the floor, it was good to get (Channing) Frye, Rudy, and Greg and those guys some minutes.”
Outlaw led all scorers in the game with 21 points, Roy added 20 points in only 22 minutes played, Oden added 16 points and nine rebounds, Rudy Fernandez scored 14 points leading the team with 30 minutes played, and Channing Frye contributed 11 points.
Portland’s final game of the regular season is Wednesday night at the Rose Garden against the Denver Nuggets.
NATE MCMILLAN
“It was great: Our guys came out with a professional approach---not giving that team any confidence. When you only give up 31 points in a half you know you’ve really clamped down on defense. That gave us a chance to rest some of our guys which should help us in our final game Wednesday against Denver.
“Our defense on Kevin Durant was solid. Travis guarded him but it was pretty much a team effort. Our approach on him (Durant) was not to allow him to get anything easy. We had some schemes on where we wanted him to go and I thought it worked out well. (Durant was 5 of 15 for 10 points.)
“Its all about looking forward to the next game now. We’ll come to play and finish the season strong. In this last few weeks we’ve been trying to win every game and take them one at a time. I’m really pleased with the play of our second unit. Travis, Rudy and Greg and Sergio have done a nice job (Outscored the Thunder reserves 55-37).
TRAVIS OUTLAW
“Coach talked to me in his office. Nothing really changed. I just wanted to come out and play hard and have fun. Coach Prutny talked to me and said I had to stop making excuses about why I was missing my shots. So I came out aggressive and tried to hit them.
“We need to load up a little bit better (defensively). Everybody needs to be in tune and we’ve got to protect our paint.
“It was big tonight (allowing Roy and Aldridge to spend time on the bench). They’ve logged a lot of minutes the last few games. It was good for them to get some relief.”
SERGIO RODRIGUEZ
“It was good. I was taking care of business. I played really well. Everybody stepped up tonight. We knew this game was important for us. For different reasons, and for fighting for our record.
"Its been a good year for me with the team’s 53 wins. Being on a playoff team is different from my first two years in the league. That’s great. We’re ready for the playoffs and we’re excited. We have to show Denver we can beat them.”
• The Trail Blazers have won five straight home games against the Oklahoma City franchise ... Portland has won the past two meetings by 30-plus points after winning by 35, Portland’s biggest win in series history, at Oklahoma City on Apr. 3.
• Portland’s 53 wins are tied for the sixth-most by a Trail Blazers team in franchise history ... At 53-28, Portland is a season-high 25 games above .500 for the first time since 1999-2000.
• The Trail Blazers are now 33-7 at home, Portland’s best 40-game home record since 1991-92 (33-7).
• Portland has won five straight games for the third time this season and nine of 10 for the first time this year.
• The Trail Blazers improved to 10-5 in the Northwest Division in 2008-09, including 7-0 at home.
• Portland has won 14 straight games against teams with below-.500 records and will finish the season with a 33-6 mark against such opponents.
• The Trail Blazers moved to 35-4 on the season when scoring 100-plus points.
• Portland is a perfect 25-0 when leading at halftime at the Rose Garden.
• Portland is now the NBA’s only team with five wins of 30-plus points … The Trail Blazers rang up their 12th win by 20-plus points this season, the most by any team in the Western Conference … Portland had four wins by 20 or more points in 2007-08.
• Portland’s 31-point halftime lead marked its largest of the season … Oklahoma City’s 31 points tied a season low for points in the first half by a Trail Blazers opponent ... Portland has led at halftime by 20-plus points five times this season, and by 19 or more points six times (all at home).
• Portland has outrebounded its opponents by double figures in 23 games, including 17 games with a plus-15 advantage of better … The Trail Blazers have outrebounded their opponents in each of their last eight wins.
• Brandon Roy scored 20-plus points for the 55th time this season.
• Rudy Fernandez has made a three-pointer in all 37 of his games at the Rose Garden ... He ranks fifth in three-pointers made in a season by a rookie in NBA history and sits fourth in three-point field goals in a season in franchise history with 153.
• Outlaw led all scorers with nine (4-5 FG) first-quarter points in making his sixth start of the season ... Portland is 8-2 in 10 games in which Outlaw has reached 20 points this year ... He led Portland in scoring for the fifth time this season.
