Suns-Trail Blazers Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Jan 26 2012 4:16PM

A road-heavy portion of the schedule wasn't kind to the Portland Trail Blazers.

A visit from the struggling Phoenix Suns may help them improve their status as one of the NBA's best home teams.

Portland seeks its sixth straight home victory over Phoenix when the teams meet Friday night.

The Trail Blazers (11-8) are coming off a stretch of playing seven of nine on the road after losing 101-93 at Golden State on Wednesday. They went 2-5 away from home during that span and fell to 3-7 on the road.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored a team-high 18 points and Marcus Camby added 16 rebounds for Portland, which nearly rallied from a 20-point deficit.

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

The Blazers' first meeting with the Suns came in Phoenix, a 102-77 loss Jan. 6 which contributed to their averages of 90.4 points and 40.9 percent shooting on the road.

The numbers are stark contrasts to those at the Rose Garden, where they're averaging 103.4 points - fifth-best in the league - and shooting 45.8 percent while going 8-1.

Portland is averaging 114.0 points during its five-game home winning streak against Phoenix, which has lost seven of 10 since beating the Blazers earlier this month.

The Suns (6-11) dropped their second straight Tuesday, 99-96 to Toronto. Marcin Gortat had 21 points and 12 rebounds to record his ninth straight double-double, and Steve Nash added 17 points and 14 assists for Phoenix, which led by 14 at one point.

"Obviously we were struggling for energy and I think that was the key, especially in that third quarter," Nash said. "They beat us on all the second-effort plays. They made a lot more of the plays, hustling for loose balls or running the floor, little things like that."

The Suns will play without backup center Robin Lopez, who was suspended for one game following an altercation with a referee Tuesday. Lopez was ejected after making contact with an official after disputing a foul call.

No matter who is in the lineup, the recent high-scoring Suns teams seem to be a thing of the past. Phoenix is averaging 89.7 points while going 3-6 on the road, where it has yet to crack the 100-point mark.

Nash's 31.9 minutes per game are his fewest since averaging 31.7 for Dallas during the 1998-99 season, and his 10.4 assists per game are his least since 2008-09.

Nash had 17 points and nine assists in the first meeting with Portland, when Jared Dudley led six Suns in double figures with 18 points. Aldridge was the only Blazers starter in double figures with 14 points.

Phoenix has won consecutive meetings for the first time since taking 11 straight in the series March 23, 2006-Nov. 22, 2008. It hasn't won in Portland since a 111-98 victory March 18, 2008.

Aldridge leads Blazers past Suns 109-71

Posted Jan 28 2012 1:34AM

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) The Portland Trail Blazers had their worst defeat of the season at Phoenix earlier this month. They returned the favor on Friday night.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 23 points and seven rebounds and the Trail Blazers blew out the Suns 109-71 for their sixth straight win at home.

"They looked like we did when we went to Phoenix," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "I think crowds and your home court certainly motivates you and brings energy to your building."

Gerald Wallace added 17 points, Wesley Matthews had 16 and Nicolas Batum added 14 for the Blazers. Marcus Camby had 20 rebounds and was the only Blazers player who didn't score on a night when both benches were emptied early.

Grant Hill had 12 points for Phoenix, which was held to a season-low in scoring and suffered the third-worst defeat in its history. Sebastian Telfair had 10 and Hakim Warrick had nine.

The Suns shot just 32.8 percent from the field, made four of 13 3-pointers and were 9 of 18 from the free-throw line.

Portland has been a much different team at the Rose Garden than out on the road this season. The Blazers are 9-1 at home, tying them with San Antonio for the best home record in the Western Conference. Portland is 3-7 on the road, including a loss Wednesday at Golden State, when the Blazers struggled against Stephen Curry's 32 points and seven assists.

"To take that next step, we've got to bottle this up," said Jamal Crawford, who finished with nine points and 10 rebounds for Portland. "There's no way around it, no tip-toeing around it. To be a really good team, you have to win on the road."

Phoenix has lost four in a row and was coming off a 99-96 defeat against Toronto.

The Suns led after the first quarter, but fell way behind after a horrid second quarter in which they made just four of 19 shots and scored just nine points. Portland took a 47-33 lead into halftime.

It just got worse for Phoenix in the second half, which had the feel of a Blazers scrimmage - full of alley-oops, breakaway dunks and cross-court passes. The Suns scored only 12 points in the third and the Blazers breezed their way to a 35-point lead before the end of the quarter.

"The thing that was surprising was that I thought we kind of folded," Hill said. "We stopped competing there as soon as they came out and hit us hard."

Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry sat his starters for much of the second half, including Steve Nash, Hill and Marcin Gorat. Both teams played bench players almost exclusively in the fourth quarter.

Nash finished with five points and seven assists in 24 minutes. He could have passed Mark Price to become the NBA career leader in free-throw percentage but went 1 of 3 from the line. Gorat finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.

"Tonight was one of those nights where they revealed that we have our deficiencies," Nash said. "We have to keep digging and find some different ways to score."

Notes: Phoenix C Robin Lopez sat out after being suspended by the league for bumping an official in Tuesday's game. ... Portland recorded a season-high 58 rebounds, a season-high 28 assists and a season-high 62 second-half points... The Blazers have won the last seven meetings with the Suns in Portland. ... Phoenix is 0-11 this season when trailing at halftime.

Notebook: Trail Blazers 109, Suns 71

By Kerry Eggers, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday January 28, 2012 1:20AM

THE FACTS: The Trail Blazers (12-8) broke open a tight game in the second quarter and never looked back in a 109-71 rout of Phoenix Friday night at the Rose Garden. Portland, trailing 24-21 after one quarter, outscored the Suns (6-12) 57-21 in the second and third periods. LaMarcus Aldridge (23 points, seven rebounds), Marcus Camby (20 rebounds) and Jamal Crawford (nine points, season-high 10 assists) had big games for Portland. It was the ninth win in 10 home games for the Blazers, who fell 102-77 in the last meeting between the teams Jan. 6 at Phoenix.

QUOTABLE: "They embarrassed us in their hometown. We were coming off an emotional win (over the Los Angeles Lakers) on a back-to-back and they hammered it to us in an ugly game. We wanted to return the favor, let them know we weren't the same team they played at home. It was more of a statement game for us."
-- Portland's Gerald Wallace.

THE STAT: Portland .473 from the field, won the rebound battle 58-41 and scored 24 points off 22 Phoenix turnovers. The Blazers won the battle in points in the paint 52-36 and second-chance points 19-0.

TURNING POINT: Phoenix, which led 24-21 after one quarter, scored once in its first seven possessions of the second quarter to fall behind 34-26. It was to only get worse.

QUOTABLE II: "From start to finish, our effort was good. Our (defensive) pressure on the ball was good. There wasn't a drop-off when we made substitutions. We got stronger as the quarters went on. This is what we were looking for from our guys. Everybody played well at both ends of the floor."
-- Portland coach Nate McMillan.

HOT: Wesley Matthews, scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting at the half, scored all 16 of his points on 6-for-7 shooting in the third quarter, including 4 for 5 from 3-point range.

NOT: The Suns shot .372 from the field, .308 from 3-point range and .500 from the foul line. They made 9 of 38 shots from the field in the second and third quarters.

QUOTABLE III: "It was us. They beat us by 30 (actually, 25) last time. I can't say they're bad. They came in ready to go. The first quarter was close, but we nailed it down in the second quarter defensively."
-- Portland's Aldridge, asked if the Blazers deserved the credit or the Suns were just bad.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, a Portland native, watched from courtside.

GOOD MOVE: McMillan used 6-foot-8 Nicolas Batum to defend 6-foot-3 Steve Nash for much of the second quarter. Nash, who had four points and six assists in the first quarter, had one point and one assist the final three periods.

BAD MOVE: With the game decided an hour earlier, Phoenix guard Sebastian Telfair took offense when Portland's Elliot Williams blocked his shot after a turnover in the closing seconds. Telfair received his second technical foul of the game and was ejected with seven seconds remaining.

NOTABLE: The 38-point difference was the most one-sided victory over for Portland in its 42-year rivalry with the Suns. The previous biggest margin was 29 in a 133-104 win in March 1987. It was the third-worst defeat in franchise history for the Suns.

UP NEXT: For the Blazers, at Utah Monday, Charlotte Wednesday, at Sacramento Thursday. For the Suns, at L.A. Clippers Memphis Saturday, Dallas Monday Saturday, at New Orleans Wednesday.

• Suns: --
• Trail Blazers: Johnson, Oden

• Suns: Telfair, Telfair
• Trail Blazers: Johnson, Smith

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Rose Garden, Portland, OR
• Officials: #19 James Capers, #11 Derrick Collins, #73 Tre Maddox
• Attendance: 20664
• Duration: 2:04