Trail Blazers-Pistons Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Jan 21 2012 1:10AM

A big night from LaMarcus Aldridge has the Portland Trail Blazers in position to return home with a .500 record on their road trip and some renewed confidence in their disappointing play away from home.

Aldridge and the Trail Blazers look to make it seven consecutive wins against the Detroit Pistons when they close a six-game trip Saturday night.

After dropping to 2-5 away from home following a 92-89 loss at Atlanta on Wednesday, Portland bounced back with a 98-84 win over Toronto on Friday.

The Trail Blazers (9-6) shot 40.2 percent - only slightly better than the 38.0 percent they connected on against the Hawks. However, they had a strong defensive effort, outscoring Toronto 47-32 in the first half while holding the Raptors to 36.6 percent from the field.

With his team struggling on this trip, Aldridge stepped up with a season-high 33 points and a career-best 23 rebounds, including nine offensive. Portland had a 55-40 rebounding advantage.

"He put us on his back tonight and that's what great players do," Jamal Crawford said. "I could tell he was a little different, even in the warmups. He had a different focus. He wasn't about to lose tonight."

It's the seventh time in Blazers history that a player has combined for at least 30 points and 20 rebounds. Aldridge came in averaging 23.3 points during the road trip, but just 9.8 in the first half of games. On Friday, he went into the break with 23 points and 11 rebounds.

Portland has a good chance to end the trip on a positive note facing a Detroit team that has dropped four in a row overall and five straight at home. The Pistons (3-13), who haven't beaten the Blazers since Feb. 2, 2008, lost 98-81 loss to Memphis on Friday.

Brandon Knight scored 22 points and Greg Monroe finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds. However, the Pistons were unable to recover from another slow start, scoring 12 points in the first quarter and 30 in the opening half.

Detroit is the NBA's lowest-scoring team (84.8 points per game) and is averaging only 40.8 in the first half.

"We need to have the same kind of intensity (throughout games)," Ben Gordon said. "We can't pick our spots. We're not that good of a team yet."

Maintaining their intensity isn't the Pistons' only problem though. Detroit committed a season-worst 25 turnovers Friday, the second time in three games it turned the ball over at least 20 times. It was also short-handed, playing without guards Rodney Stuckey (groin), Will Bynum (right foot) and forward Charlie Villanueva (right ankle).

Tayshaun Prince was held to 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting against the Grizzlies after scoring at least 20 points in three straight games.

Aldridge scored 36 points on 12 of 17 from the floor in a 105-100 win over Detroit last February in the teams' most recent meeting.

Stuckey, Pistons hold on to beat Blazers 94-91

By NOAH TRISTER
Posted Jan 22 2012 2:01AM

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) Rodney Stuckey returned to the lineup and helped the Detroit Pistons shake their turnover problems.

Stuckey scored 28 points, part of a crisp offensive performance by Detroit in its 94-91 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night. The Pistons led by 16 in the third quarter then held on to win when Raymond Felton lost the ball near midcourt in the final seconds.

Detroit turned the ball over 25 times in a loss to Memphis on Friday night. The Pistons reduced that number to 11 on Saturday and looked more comfortable with Stuckey in the backcourt alongside rookie Brandon Knight. Both players are capable of playing point guard.

"We can play off of each other," Knight said. "It's definitely good having two ball handlers that can both attack and both create for the team."

Stuckey had been averaging only 11.3 points, but he was aggressive from the start after missing the previous game with a groin injury. Detroit was without guard Ben Gordon (left shoulder).

"I was just trying to come out and be aggressive for my team tonight," Stuckey said. "With the injury, it's just going to be a nagging thing throughout the whole year."

The Pistons won for only the second time in 12 games. The Trail Blazers were down three after Felton made two free throws with 37 seconds remaining. Stuckey missed a wild driving attempt, and Portland rebounded and called a timeout with 15.6 seconds left.

Jamal Crawford drove for a layup with 8.4 seconds to go, and Stuckey answered with a pair of free throws.

Detroit fouled Felton at midcourt, preventing Portland from trying a 3-point attempt. He made both free throws, but Stuckey made two of his own with 4.4 seconds left to make it 94-91.

The Pistons were ready to foul Felton again but didn't have to.

"It was a perfect situation," Detroit coach Lawrence Frank said. "They had no timeouts - had to go the length of the court. It worked out for us."

Tayshaun Prince added 17 points for Detroit, which led by as many as 16 in the third quarter.

LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 25 points, one night after a 33-point, 23-rebound effort against Toronto. Felton had 20 points and nine assists.

The Pistons turned the ball over only four times in the first half. Detroit went on a 21-5 run in the second quarter to take a 47-34 lead. Stuckey scored 16 points in the half and Prince added 12, helping the Pistons to a 54-43 lead at the break.

"You can't flip a switch in this league. I thought we tried to flip a switch against these guys tonight. That's not going to work," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "You've got to come in here ready to play. Offensively, we didn't work to establish ourselves inside tonight. We settled for jump shot after jump shot. Not only did we settle for jump shots, but they were contested shots."

Stuckey's 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer put Detroit ahead 67-51, but the Trail Blazers finally answered with a 16-2 run, cutting the lead to two on a 3-pointer by Nicolas Batum.

Portland trimmed the deficit to one on several occasions in the fourth, but Detroit responded each time. The Pistons finally gave themselves some breathing room when Greg Monroe tipped in a miss, Jason Maxiell added a putback of his own, and Monroe made two free throws to push it to 87-80 with 3:02 to play.

"You can't play catch-up every game. That takes a lot out of a team," Crawford said. "This is a tough one. We definitely let an opportunity go."

NOTES: Detroit's Jonas Jerebko left with a bloody face after being caught by Craig Smith's elbow while the Portland player was going to the basket with 7:46 left. Jerebko was called for a foul on the play and had two stitches on his lower lip. ... Portland is off Sunday before playing back-to-back-to-back games against Sacramento, Memphis and Golden State starting Monday.

Notebook: Pistons 94, Trail Blazers 91

By Dana Gauruder, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday January 22, 2012 12:06AM

THE FACTS: Guard Rodney Stuckey scored a season-high 28 points as the Detroit Pistons snapped a four-game losing streak with a 94-91 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers Saturday night. Forward Tayshaun Prince added 17 points for Detroit, which also snapped a five-game home losing streak. Forward LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 25 points.

QUOTABLE: "I can play off the ball and he can play off the ball. We can play off of each other. It's a great way to play and something I'm sure we'll look to exploit later on. It's definitely good having two ball handlers that can both attack and create for the team."
-- Pistons rookie guard Brandon Knight, who had 14 points and three assists to complement Stuckey's 28-point night

THE STAT: 54. A 54-point first half might sound ordinary to some teams but for the Pistons, it was an offensive explosion. Detroit, which is last in the league in scoring, achieved a season-high halftime total behind 16 points from Stuckey and 54.5 percent shooting. Forward Jonas Jerebko added nine of his 11 points before the break.

TURNING POINT: Knight and Stuckey sparked a 16-4, third-quarter run when the Pistons built a 16-point lead. Knight had two fast-break layups and assisted on 3-pointers by Stuckey and Prince. Stuckey capped the run when he flung in a desperation 3-pointer with the shot clock about to expire, giving his team a 67-51 advantage. Portland rallied but never caught up.

QUOTABLE II: "I fouled him with my head. I fouled him with my lip. I don't know what I did but I guess it was a foul."
-- Jerebko on getting called for a foul against Craig Smith with 7:46 remaining while getting elbowed in the mouth. His cut lip required two stitches.

HOT: Stuckey hadn't scored more than 17 points this season and has been battling a groin injury, which forced him to miss Friday's loss to Memphis. The only reason he started was that Ben Gordon was a late scratch with a sore shoulder. Stuckey not only made strong moves to the basket, he hit 4 of 5 3-point attempts and chipped in a team-high five assists.

NOT: While Aldridge followed up his 33-point performance in Toronto Friday with another high-scoring game, he left much to be desired around the backboard. He grabbed just four rebounds after pulling down 23 against the Raptors. He also failed in the clutch, shooting 1 of 4 from the field and getting the ball stolen from him by Detroit center Greg Monroe.

GOOD MOVE: With his club leading by three and neither team having a timeout left, Pistons coach Lawrence Frank ordered Knight to foul Raymond Felton. Though Felton made both free throws, Portland was forced to foul again and Stuckey made both free throws. Felton lost the ball on the Trail Blazers' final possession.

BAD MOVE: Portland coach Nate McMillan replaced Smith with Marcus Camby with 3:51 remaining Camby, who had just two points and six rebounds in 26 minutes, contributing nothing down the stretch while Detroit clung to a slim lead.

NOTABLE: Portland forward Gerald Wallace missed the game with a sprained right middle finger. ... Felton had 20 points and nine assists. ... Monroe took only six shots and was held to 10 points. ... Pistons 29-year-old rookie guard Walker Russell Jr. made his second career appearance and had three points and two assists.

UP NEXT: For the Trail Blazers, Monday vs. Sacramento, Tuesday vs. Memphis, Wednesday @ Golden State. For the Pistons, Monday @ Oklahoma City, Wednesday vs. Miami, Friday vs. Atlanta.

• Trail Blazers: Johnson, Oden
• Pistons: Villanueva

• Trail Blazers: --
• Pistons: --

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI
• Officials: #71 Rodney Mott, #49 Tom Washington, #29 Mark Lindsay
• Attendance: 14456
• Duration: 2:24