Thunder-Trail Blazers Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Feb 06 2012 9:58AM

Following an ugly defensive effort on the road their last time out, the Oklahoma City Thunder won't have it any easier against the Portland Trail Blazers, who continue to dominate at the Rose Garden.

The Trail Blazers try to win their sixth straight at home Monday night when they take on the Thunder.

Oklahoma City has the league's best record largely thanks to an impressive 9-4 road mark. However, the Thunder (18-5) weren't nearly as sharp in opening a five-game trip with a 107-96 loss at San Antonio on Saturday, falling behind by 24 points in the third quarter.

Kevin Durant had 22 points and 11 rebounds while Russell Westbrook added 18 points, six boards and six assists. The Spurs went 12 of 23 from 3-point range and Oklahoma City had no answer for Tony Parker, who scored 42 points.

"It's all about stopping the basketball and we didn't do a good job of that," coach Scott Brooks said. "Tony Parker and their 3's. We had no answer for either of them."

Despite winning three of their last five road games, the Thunder's past four hosts are 41 of 95 (43.2 percent) beyond the arc while averaging 103.5 points.

Oklahoma City will try to get its defense back on track during the remainder of this trip, which continues with games on back-to-back nights against the Trail Blazers and Golden State.

The Thunder's recent struggles to defend the 3 could be a bad sign heading into Portland, where the Trail Blazers are coming off their own hot shooting night from long distance.

Portland (14-10) improved to 11-1 at home with a 117-97 win over Denver on Saturday. It went 15 of 33 beyond the arc, with Nicolas Batum hitting 9 of 15 to finish with a career-high 33 points.

Batum said he was forced to shoot from distance because of an injured knee, which kept him sidelined the previous two games.

"When I came in tonight I was thinking, 'Don't hurt my knee, don't be crazy tonight,'" he said. "I tried to drive to the basket. I could not dunk, I could not even make a layup. All I could do is shoot from the 3-point line."

The Blazers shot 53.5 percent and LaMarcus Aldridge gave Batum plenty of help, scoring 29 points on 13 of 18 shooting. Portland is averaging 105.8 points at the Rose Garden this season while winning the last five by an average of 25.4 points.

Despite that strong play at home, overall Portland has alternated wins and losses its last seven games. It closes a three-game homestand Wednesday against Houston before heading on the road for two.

"With us dropping some games on the road, (we want to) continue to try and defend home court, especially during this stretch of games," coach Nate McMillan told the Blazers' official website. "We've got some top teams coming in here and another division game coming up, so all games are important."

The Blazers won 103-93 in Oklahoma City on Jan. 3 - the Thunder's lone home loss in 10 games this season. Aldridge had 30 points while Durant missed 18 of 26 shots and finished with 19.

Durant is shooting 32.4 percent overall and 7 of 30 beyond the arc in his last three games against the Blazers.

Portland guard Raymond Felton, who left Saturday's game with a sprained left foot, is questionable.

NBA-best Thunder beat Blazers 111-107 in OT

By ANNE M. PETERSON
Posted Feb 07 2012 2:24AM

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) A satisfying victory for Oklahoma City was a head-scratcher for Portland.

Kevin Durant had 33 points, including a dunk with 2.9 seconds left in overtime, and the Thunder defeated the Trail Blazers 111-107 on Monday night.

But the focus of the game fell on a goaltending call on Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge with 6 seconds left in regulation that tied the game at 103 and would send it into overtime.

The Rose Garden Crowd wailed when the replay was shown on the video scoreboard. Coach Nate McMillan rushed to the nearest official to complain. Aldridge, who finished with a season-high 39 points, just looked stunned.

"I said, `Y'all should go look at it,"' Aldridge said. "And the ref said, `Nope."'

And that was that.

Russell Westbrook added 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder, who upped their NBA-best record to 19-5 (.792). Oklahoma City outscored the deflated Blazers 8-4 in overtime to clinch it.

Westbrook hit a jumper and James Harden added a fast-break dunk to give the Thunder a 107-103 lead. Jamal Crawford's pull-up jumper narrowed it to 109-107 for the Blazers, but Durant dunked with 2.9 seconds left to put it away.

"It was a tough game," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "It could have gone either way. I don't think one call is a difference-maker."

It was just the second loss for the Blazers (13-11) at the Rose Garden.

"It's tough. We definitely played well enough to win this game," Aldridge said. "We had some tough calls and then we had some bad bounces late in the game. We have to learn from it."

The Blazers trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half, but Nicolas Batum hit a 3-pointer that tied it at 63 with 6:52 left. Aldridge added a jumper to put Portland ahead.

Aldridge hit a turnaround jumper with 3:37 to go to make it 99-95 for the Blazers. After a pair of free throws, Durant made a 3-pointer to close to 101-98. Westbrook made free throws to tie it for Oklahoma City, and then Crawford's jumper with 55.9 seconds left pulled the Blazers back ahead.

Portland clung to the narrow lead when, with 6 seconds left, Aldridge was called for goaltending on Durant's layup.

"It didn't hit the glass. I put it on the glass, so I figured it was a clean block," Aldridge said. "The ref who called it was the furthest one from the basket, so that's pretty interesting."

Coach Nate McMillan was much more direct: "I thought it was a good block. That game should have been over."

Durant felt otherwise.

"I saw the lane to the rim and I tried to get it up there quick because LaMarcus Aldridge is a long, athletic defender," he said. "So I got it up there quick enough that it hit the glass first. It was a goaltend, so it was a good play for us."

Batum missed a layup for Portland's final possession and the game went to overtime and the Rose Garden crowd jeered the officials. The boos came again after the game when the refs quickly exited the floor.

The Thunder were coming off a 107-96 loss at San Antonio on Saturday, which kicked off a five-game road trip. Durant had 22 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double.

Portland was without starting guard Raymond Felton, who strained his left foot in the Blazers' 117-97 victory over Denver on Saturday night. An MRI was negative, but Felton is day-to-day with the injury.

Crawford, a former NBA Sixth Man award winner with Atlanta who was acquired by the Blazers as a free agent before the season opened, started for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

Crawford, who finished with 17 points, hit a 3-pointer that put Portland ahead 26-21 in the first quarter.

The Blazers led by as many as eight, but Oklahoma City pulled in front 46-41 in the second quarter on Serge Ibaka's dunk. Durant and Ibaka had back-to-back dunks and the Thunder went on to lead 60-52 at the half.

Ibaka made a 15-foot jumper to extended Oklahoma City's lead to 64-52, but Portland took off on a 13-0 run to take a 65-64 lead capped by Gerald Wallace's layup.

It didn't last long, however, and the Thunder responded with a run of their own to go up 80-69 after Westbrook's dunk. Portland narrowed it to 87-83 to start the fourth quarter, and Batum hit a layup and a free throw to narrow it to 89-88, but Durant again answered with a dunk to stop the Blazers' momentum.

Notes: There was a cluster of fans behind the Thunder bench that wore SuperSonics gear and held banners in memory of the team that left Seattle in 2008. ... Batum had a career-high 33 points and a franchise-record nine 3-pointers in the victory over Denver. He finished with 13 against the Thunder. ... It was Aldridge's 19th game with at least 20 points this season. He's surpassed 28 points for three consecutive games.

Notebook: Thunder 111, Trail Blazers 107

Posted Tuesday February 7, 2012 2:02AM

By Kerry Eggers, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Kevin Durant scored 33 points -- including four in overtime -- and Russell Westbrook collected 28 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as Oklahoma City beat Portland 111-107 Monday night at the Rose Garden.

Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge -- who scored a season-high 39 points -- was called for goaltending on a drive by Durant with six seconds left in regulation that tied the score at 103-103. After a timeout, Nicolas Batum's drive was blocked by OKC's Westbrook as time expired.

The win avenged the only home defeat this season for the Thunder (19-5), who fell to the Blazers 103-93 at Oklahoma City in Jan. 3. It was only the second loss in 13 home games for Portland (14-11).

QUOTABLE: "I didn't think it was goaltending. It was a good block. That game should have been over."
-- Portland head coach Nate McMillan on Aldridge's block, which was obviously clean upon review.

THE STAT: Oklahoma City outrebounded Portland 59-39, taking 18 off the offensive glass. That led to an advantage for the Thunder in second-chance points (22-14) and points in the paint (52-46).

TURNING POINT: Portland failed to score on their first possessions of overtime. The Thunder converted twice to take a 107-103 lead, and the Blazers never recovered.

QUOTABLE II: "I thought Perk was the difference-maker. It's weird to say when the guy he was guarding (Aldridge) had 39, but he made him work for every shot. His activity, his defense, his toughness won this game."
-- OKC head coach Scott Brooks on Kendrick Perkins, who defended Aldridge in single-coverage most of the game.

HOT: Aldridge was remarkable in the first half, hitting 8 of his first 9 shots -- several with a high degree of difficulty. He wound up 14 for 28 from the field and 11 for 11 at the foul line, finishing three points shy of his career high.

NOT: After shooting .524 in the first half, OKC shot .378 in the second half, allowing the Blazers to get back into the game.

QUOTABLE III: "Doesn't really matter now. (The Thunder) made shots at the right time and we didn't. They got some calls that went their way and won the game."
-- Aldridge, on whether he thought his block of Durant's shot at the end of regulation was clean.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Former NFL and Oregon Ducks quarterback Joey Harrington was on hand to root for the Blazers.

GOOD MOVE: When James Harden jumped over to double-team Aldridge, Batum found himself with a wide-open lane to the basket at the end of regulation. Westbrook spotted it and came over to make the block on Batum that saved the game.

BAD MOVE: With Portland trailing 74-69 late in the third quarter, Wesley Matthews had a clear lane to the basket on a semi-fast break. He lost his dribble, though, which turned into a turnover and a dunk at the other end. The four-point swing was big in the final outcome.

NOTABLE: The Thunder are 4-1 in bounce-back games after their five losses. The only failure was when they lost to Portland 103-93 in OKC on Jan. 3 after falling to Dallas the previous night.

UP NEXT: For the Blazers, Houston Wednesday, at New Orleans Friday, at Dallas Saturday. For the Thunder, at Golden State Tuesday, at Sacramento Thursday, Utah Friday.

• Thunder: Maynor, Sefolosha
• Trail Blazers: Felton, Oden

• Thunder: --
• Trail Blazers: --

• Lead Changes: 13
• Times Tied: 13

• Arena: Rose Garden, Portland, OR
• Officials: #48 Scott Foster, #42 Eric Lewis, #67 Matt Myers
• Attendance: 20559
• Duration: 2:40