Trail Blazers-Warriors Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Jan 25 2012 11:02AM

The Portland Trail Blazers are quickly shaking off some recent struggles, thanks in part to the compressed NBA schedule.

Going back on the road may hamper their new-found momentum, and visits to the Golden State Warriors tend to do just that.

The Trail Blazers look to sweep a set of three games in three days while trying to beat the Warriors on the road for just the second time in nearly seven years Wednesday night.

Portland (11-7) swept a brief two-game homestand, beating Sacramento 101-89 on Monday before a 97-84 victory over Memphis the following night. Those wins came after a 2-5 stretch.

"We're still working on our rhythm," coach Nate McMillan told the team's official website. "We're still working on execution. What I do see is guys challenging each other. When we're not doing what we're supposed to do, I'm hearing them talk to each other, challenge each other."

The Trail Blazers have a tough challenge ahead as they try to win three games in three days for the first time since 1999.

Portland is 3-6 on the road this season, scoring 90.4 points per contest. The team has also dropped 11 of the past 12 visits to Oracle Arena, with the lone victory coming on March 11, 2010.

Both visits to Golden State last season resulted in losses, including a 110-86 defeat to the Warriors (5-11) in the most recent matchup April 13.

LaMarcus Aldridge hasn't been at his best in his last seven trips to Oakland, averaging 13.9 points and 5.9 rebounds while connecting on 39.2 percent from the field.

The forward-center enters this matchup looking for another strong performance after making 8 of 13 shots to finish with 23 points and six rebounds against the Grizzlies. He's averaged 25.2 points and 10.7 rebounds over the last six road games.

Golden State will try to continue its home dominance of the Trail Blazers and avoid a fourth straight loss overall. The Warriors have kept games close during the three-game skid, getting outscored by 3.6 points.

Although another close loss was the result, the Warriors can't take any positives away from their last game. They blew a 20-point, second-half lead and were outscored 39-22 in the fourth quarter of Monday's 91-90 loss to the Grizzlies.

"At the start of that fourth quarter, we could have knocked them out," coach Mark Jackson said. "They would have been ready to surrender. We didn't when we had a chance to. They got underneath our skin and we didn't respond."

Monta Ellis is averaging 25.0 points while hitting 57.7 percent from the field over the last three games. He leads the Warriors in scoring (23.1 points per game) and assists (6.9), and is averaging 32.3 points in his last four meetings with the Blazers - three ending in Golden State victories.

Stephen Curry has also had success versus the Trail Blazers, averaging 23.0 points in his last four meetings. That includes a career-high 42 points in a 122-116 road win on April 14, 2010.

The guard has totaled 30 points over the last two games after sitting out eight with an ankle injury.

Curry has 32 points, Warriors top Blazers 101-93

By ANTONIO GONZALEZ
Posted Jan 26 2012 1:47AM

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Mark Jackson looked up the scoreboard during a timeout late in the fourth quarter and couldn't be happier to find his team in another close game.

The final result had the rookie coach smiling even more.

Stephen Curry scored a season-high 32 points and added seven assists and six rebounds, and the Warriors extended their recent home dominance against Portland with a 101-93 victory Wednesday night to redeem a recent string of fourth-quarter collapses and last-second blunders.

"I think it's just what the doctor ordered," said Jackson, whose Warriors are 6-11. "No sense in running away with a win. We need to learn how to win close games."

At least for a night, they finally did.

David Lee had 26 points and five rebounds, and Brandon Rush scored 14 points in relief to give Golden State its 12th win in the last 13 meetings at home against Portland. The Warriors also snapped a three-game losing streak and beat a Western Conference opponent for the first time this season after an 0-6 start.

"We weren't stressing about it," Curry said. "It wasn't like we were sitting around the last couple days wondering what to do. We knew that we could close out games if we take care of the ball and execute the way we know we can."

LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 points and seven rebounds, and Jamal Crawford and Nicolas Batum added 16 points each for Portland, which finished a stretch of three games in three nights at 2-1.

The Warriors made a season-best 11 3-pointers.

"They had some really good stretches. In the third quarter was when they really put us on our heels," Crawford said. "It's easy to get seduced into their style."

The Warriors wore down a tired Blazers team late with a fast pace and the kind of defense Jackson has preached since taking over the historically offensive-oriented franchise.

Dorell Wright had a pair of dunks and Curry made a 3-pointer to highlight a 16-5 spurt between the third and fourth quarters that put the Warriors ahead 85-75 and seemingly in complete control for another home victory.

Instead, Golden State almost added to its string of recent collapses. After blowing a 20-point lead in a loss at Memphis on Monday night, the Warriors had to hold on in the final minutes.

The Blazers whittled the Warriors' lead to 91-88 on Jamal Crawford's free throws with a little less than 5 minutes to play. Then Monta Ellis, held to only four points but with 12 assists, made a fadeaway and Curry followed with a short jumper to push Golden State back in front by seven to send Portland home with another Bay Area bust.

Curry's surge was a welcome sign for a Warriors team that desperately needs its young franchise player to return to form after missing eight games with a recurring sprain on his surgically repaired right ankle. In only his third game back, the sharp-shooting Curry offset a slow offensive output from his backcourt teammate.

"He ran the point position and that's with scoring 32 points," Jackson said. "He got what he wanted."

And made the Blazers' blistering start simply disappear.

Showing no signs of team playing its third game in as many nights, Portland pulled away with a combination of easy fast-break layups and offensive rebounds. The Blazers took a 22-12 lead before many fans at Oracle Arena even took their seats.

Fatigue finally caught up to Portland when it mattered most.

Rush came off the bench to spark sluggish Golden State, making back-to-back 3-pointers to highlight a 12-1 run that put the Warriors ahead 24-23 late in the first quarter.

Neither side created much separation the rest of the half.

There were six lead changes and eight ties before the break, with Portland in front 53-48 after shooting 51.3 percent from the field. Golden State shot 44.7 percent in the first half.

"As a team, we did not play well. As a unit, we need to play better," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "We're not going to single anybody out. There are some things that we all needed to do better."

Notes: Warriors coach Mark Jackson was a teammate of Blazers F Kurt Thomas and C Marcus Camby for 1 1/2 seasons when they played for the New York Knicks from 2000-02. ... Former rapper and Oakland native MC Hammer was in attendance. ... Golden State was 3-1 against Portland last season and has not lost the season series since 2002-03, when the Blazers completed a 4-0 sweep.

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Follow Antonio Gonzalez at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP

Notebook: Warriors 101, Trail Blazers 93

By Geoff Lepper, for NBA.com
Posted Thursday January 26, 2012 2:04AM

THE FACTS: Stephen Curry scored a season-high 32 points and added seven assists, six rebounds and four steals as the Golden State Warriors withstood a fourth-quarter rally to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 101-93 Wednesday. Two days after setting a season-worst mark with 24 turnovers while blowing a 17-point fourth-quarter lead to Memphis, the Warriors set season-highs for assists (33) and 3-pointers (11), using ball movement to outpace a tired Portland team playing its third game in successive nights. David Lee had 26 points and Monta Ellis dished a season-high 12 assists for Golden State. LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 18 points, but had just two in the final period.

QUOTABLE: "He didn't take care of the ball (against Memphis). He was careless. He was reckless. Tonight, he took what the defense gave him. He picked them apart in pick-and-roll situations. When they didn't play him, he came off as a scorer. When they doubled him, he put David in position to knock down shots. He ran the point guard position, and that's with scoring 32 points. He got what he wanted and took control of this game."
-- Warriors coach Mark Jackson.

THE STAT: Curry had been shooting 39.4 percent (13-for-33) in two games since coming back from a two-week layoff after his latest right ankle sprain, but he broke out with a huge offensive night, going 12-for-19 from the floor, 6-for-8 behind the arc. The Warriors flipped their backcourt roles in response to Portland loading up their ball-screen defense against Ellis, leaving Curry with open look after open look.

TURNING POINT: Portland closed from 10 points down with 9:48 remaining in the fourth quarter to just three behind at the 5:24 mark. That's when Curry, who had been yanked for a short breather after Golden State committed turnovers on consecutive possessions, took control with two points and two assists in an 8-4 run that left the Warriors leading 97-90 with 1:36 to go.

QUOTABLE II: "I think it's great (to have another close fourth quarter). I think it's just what the doctor ordered. No sense in us running away with the win. We need to learn how to win close games. We need to learn how to close people out defensively and execute offensively."
-- Jackson.

HOT: Curry went incandescent in the third quarter, shedding Raymond Felton seemingly at will to pour in 16 points, the most in a single period by any Warrior this season. Curry was 4-for-5 from behind the arc in the period, which left Portland coach Nate McMillan at a loss: "I can't explain it. We know what (Curry) is capable of doing."

NOT: Memphis staged their huge comeback against Golden State on Monday with 39 points in the fourth quarter, but Portland shot just 38.9 percent (7-for-18) in the fourth Wednesday, with ex-Warrior guard Jamal Crawford leading the way at 2-for-6.

GOOD MOVE: Jackson tried both Lee and Andris Biedrins on Aldridge through the first 2 1/2 quarters before hitting on the answer: second-year big man Ekpe Udoh. Udoh's harassing defense was a primary reason Aldridge wilted with just two points over his final 15:43 on the floor.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Brandon Rush moved into first place atop the NBA's 3-point shooting leaderboard, going 3-for-3 against the Trail Blazers -- part of a 14-point, six-rebound night -- to up his season-long mark to 57.4 percent.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Oakland native MC Hammer sat courtside and enjoyed a rousing rendition of "Too Legit To Quit" on the public-address system.

NOTABLE: The Warriors won for the first time in seven attempts this season against a Western Conference opponent. . . . Portland has now lost 12 of its last 13 at Oracle Arena. . . . Golden State set a season-high by shooting 55.0 percent on 3-pointers. . . . This was Curry's 17th career 30-point game. . . . Crawford and Nicolas Batum each had 16 points off the bench for Portland. . . . Trail Blazers center Marcus Camby grabbed 16 rebounds.

UP NEXT: For the Warriors, Friday vs. Oklahoma City, Tuesday vs. Sacramento, Thursday vs. Utah. For the Trail Blazers, Friday vs. Phoenix, Monday at Utah, Wednesday vs. Charlotte.

• Trail Blazers: Johnson, Oden
• Warriors: Brown, Wright

• Trail Blazers: Crawford
• Warriors: --

• Lead Changes: 9
• Times Tied: 11

• Arena: ORACLE Arena, Oakland, CA
• Officials: #43 Dan Crawford, #40 Leon Wood, #28 Tommy Nunez Jr.
• Attendance: 17923
• Duration: 2:08