Trail Blazers-Hornets Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Feb 09 2012 8:20PM

A bit of uncertainty suddenly surrounds the Portland Trail Blazers after they dropped back-to-back home games earlier this week.

While Portland might normally not like its chances of regrouping as the visiting team, a trip to face the Western Conference-worst New Orleans Hornets could be just what it needs to get back on track.

The Blazers look to avoid matching their longest road losing streak in almost three years Friday night against a Hornets team hoping to prevail for just the second time in 18 games.

While much has been made about Portland's lackluster road efforts, it had been nearly unbeatable at home - winning 11 of its first 12 there. The Blazers (14-12), though, are coming off a pair of disappointing results at the Rose Garden.

After a controversial goaltending call on LaMarcus Aldridge allowed Oklahoma City to force overtime and ultimately take Monday's matchup 111-107, Portland fell 103-96 to Houston on Wednesday.

"It's tough, it's tough, that's for sure, but it's a process you have to go through unfortunately," guard Jamal Crawford told the team's official website. "We can be two different teams at times. I think that to be so good, then to come up short and really shortchange ourselves, I think that's the most surprising thing."

The Blazers were outrebounded 39-29 and allowed the Rockets to shoot 52.6 percent - the second-highest mark by an opponent.

"We talked about just getting back to doing things simple, simplifying some things and getting back to our foundations. We didn't come out like that," Crawford added. "It's disheartening for sure. We've got to get on our horse and face the adversity."

Portland could have a hard time picking up the pace on the road, where it's dropped four in a row and nine of 12. It hasn't lost five straight in opposing arenas since Feb. 4-25, 2009.

While the Blazers rank in the bottom third of the league with 90.7 points per game away from home, the Hornets (4-22), who have lost 13 of 14 at New Orleans Arena, are averaging an NBA-worst 86.3 points on their own court.

The Hornets were handed their seventh consecutive loss overall Wednesday, 90-67 to Chicago. Posting its lowest scoring output since April 13, 2009, New Orleans was outscored 12 to 1 on fast breaks and surrendered 29 points off 18 turnovers.

"What you have to do against a (good) team like that is you have to run your sets and you have to be fundamentally sound," coach Monty Williams said. "You have to push the ball so you can get to all your options. You can't walk the ball up the court and you have to set screens."

The Hornets lost 84-77 at home to the Blazers on Jan. 16. Aldridge, averaging 26.7 points in his last three meetings in the series, scored 22.

Portland is surely hoping to see Aldridge, named to the All-Star team for the first time Thursday, come out with a more inspired effort after he was held to a season low-tying 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting against Houston.

"It was just me," he said. "I didn't have the energy."

Returning from a three-game absence due to knee pain, the Hornets' Jarrett Jack had four points on 2-of-11 shooting Wednesday. Jack, who spent the first three years of his career with Portland, scored 21 against his former team last month.

The Hornets continue to play without star Eric Gordon (sore right knee) and forward Carl Landry (left MCL sprain). Big man Jason Smith, meanwhile, could miss a third straight game with a concussion.

Crawford leads Trail Blazers past Hornets, 94-86

By BRETT MARTEL
Posted Feb 11 2012 12:03AM

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Jamal Crawford decided it was his turn to speak up before another road game got away from the Portland Trail Blazers.

"I told them we weren't going to lose this game. Period," Crawford recalled when describing his animated comments during a Portland timeout.

"It wasn't going to happen."

Crawford made sure of that himself, scoring a season-high 31 points, and Portland snapped a two-game skid while handing New Orleans its eighth straight loss, 94-86 on Friday night.

Raymond Felton scored 18 points, including four straight free throws in the final minute that gave the Blazers a 90-84 lead.

Newly selected All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge and Gerald Wallace each scored 14 points to help Portland pull out only its fourth road win after trailing much of the game.

"Sometimes it's not about how you win but the fact that you win," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "New Orleans played hard and scrapped and played a good game. We did the things we needed to do down the stretch."

Crawford, playing 30 minutes in a reserve role, scored 12 of his points during a 15-5 Portland run that began late in the third quarter and gave the Blazers a six-point lead early in the fourth.

"I just felt we needed some energy. At that moment we were struggling a little bit scoring-wise," Crawford said, describing how the Hornets kept double-teaming Aldridge and Wallace, who generally provide much of Portland's offense in the post.

"When they do that we've got to make them pay on the perimeter," Crawford said. "That gives our guards better quality shots and we've got to take advantage of that and we did tonight."

Trevor Ariza had 23 points and nine rebounds for New Orleans, which briefly led 78-77 in the middle of the fourth quarter before losing for the 23rd time in 25 games.

Portland trailed for most of the second and third quarters, but surged into the lead with a 10-3 run to close the third. Crawford scored seven points during that pivotal spurt on a driving floater as he was fouled, a graceful driving scoop off the glass and a 20-foot jumper.

Crawford then opened the fourth quarter with two more jumpers and a technical free throw, giving him 12 of 14 Portland points and increasing the Blazers' lead to 75-69.

"When he got going, everything got better because the focus on taking me out kind of shifted," Aldridge said of Crawford, who also had eight assists. "They were so focused on trying to stop him, he got everybody open."

Marco Belinelli's 3 sparked a 7-0 run that briefly gave New Orleans the lead once more, and after Portland went back up by three on a pair of jumpers by Aldridge, Ariza's three-point play on a driving layup as he was fouled tied it at 81 with 4:11 left.

The Hornets had trouble generating offense in crunch time as another close game slipped away.

New Orleans briefly got as close as 86-84 on Al-Farouq Aminu's 3 with 48 seconds to go, but Aminu, who had 12 points off the bench, fouled out seconds later, sending Felton to the free throw line.

New Orleans scored only two more points, and Portland hit six more free throws for the final margin.

Hornets coach Monty Williams said it was hard to criticize his injury-plagued team, which had only nine players in uniform.

Starting point guard Jarrett Jack was out again after trying to come back from left knee soreness last Wednesday, and 7-foot center Chris Kaman was out after hurting his left ankle in pregame warm-ups.

"When I look at this game, I see guys who fought, who competed, who were put in a tough situation and battled all night," Williams said. "Right now, I'm proud to be around a group of guys who fight no matter what the situation. ... We have to get better down the stretch, but we had guys out there who had never been in that position, and it was a good learning experience."

Accurate jump shooting helped Portland finish at nearly 52 percent from the field to go with 20 of 25 free throw shooting. That allowed the Blazers to overcome the Hornets' 54-30 advantage in points inside.

Crawford finished 10 of 16 from the field and 9 of 10 on free throws. Five of Crawford's six misses were from behind the 3-point arc.

Emeka Okafor had 13 points and eight rebounds for New Orleans, while Belinelli added 12 points.

Ariza had 15 of his points in the first half, and his free throws put the Hornets up by as many as nine at 38-29 in the second quarter. That was the largest lead for either team in a game that had six lead changes and nine ties.

Notes: Portland improved to 4-9 on the road, with two of those wins coming at New Orleans, which has an NBA-worst 2-14 home record. ... The Hornets were also without guard Eric Gordon and forwards Carl Landry and Jason Smith. .... Hornets G Donald Sloan made his debut for the club late in the first quarter, making him the 11th new member of the team to play in a regular season game through the first 27 games. He had seven points.

Notebook: Blazers 94, Hornets 86

Posted Friday February 10, 2012 11:19PM

By Larry Holder, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Backup guard Jamal Crawford was potent coming off the bench with a game-high 31 points as the Portland Trail Blazers knocked off the New Orleans Hornets 94-86 on Friday night in the New Orleans Arena. The Blazers halted a two-game losing streak, while the Hornets have lost eight consecutive games and 23 of their last 25 games.

QUOTABLE: "One of the things we talked about before the game was that we needed a win. Sometimes it's not about how you win, it's that you won. New Orleans scrapped. You can't play that team's record. ... We did struggle in the first half. We couldn't put anything in the basket. Seemed like it had a top on the basket. We continued to work."
-- Blazers coach Nate McMillan

THE STAT: Five times in the last six games the Hornets led at halftime, including Friday night when New Orleans went into intermission up 46-42. The lack of a closer continues to punish the Hornets as New Orleans ended up losing all five of those games.

TURNING POINT: Portland's defense late in the fourth quarter kept New Orleans off the scoreboard. The Blazers came up with two blocked shots in consecutive Hornets possessions with less than three minutes left. LaMarcus Aldridge swatted away a layup attempt by the Hornets' Marco Belinelli with 2:58 left. Then on the next possession, the Blazers' Gerald Wallace blocked another shot near the rim by New Orleans' Trevor Ariza.

HOT: Crawford came up huge all night. He went 10-for-16 from the floor and 9-for-10 from the free-throw line for his 31 points. Crawford also added eight assists.

NOT: Forward Al-Farouq Aminu drained a 3-pointer with 48 seconds left to cut Portland's lead to 86-84. Then less than five seconds later, Aminu unnecessarily fouls Portland's Raymond Felton allowing Felton to drain both free throws to seal the game. Aminu fouled out after having a rather solid game with 12 points off the bench. But that foul was big.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Ariza did just about all he could to keep New Orleans in the game. Ariza led the Hornets with 23 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals in 46 minutes.

QUOTABLE II: "I'm pretty sure teams are going to be calling for Trev [at the trade deadline], a veteran team, because he does the things that help you win games. I hate that we haven't been able to capitalize on some of the plays he's given us."
-- Hornets coach Monty Williams

NOTABLE: Hornets guard Jarrett Jack missed Friday night's game against Portland with a sore knee and will miss at least one week. Jack returned to action from the ailment on Wednesday against Chicago after missing the previous three games because of the knee. But it was evident in the Bulls loss that Jack wasn't ready to return as he struggled offensively and simply didn't have the same burst as normal. To make matters worse, center Chris Kaman injured his ankle during pregame warmups and didn't play. Guard Eric Gordon (knee), forward Carl Landry (knee) and forward Jason Smith (concussion) rounded out Hornets injured players not to play Friday. ... Felton had 18 points for the Blazers, while Aldridge and Wallace each scored 14.

UP NEXT: For the Blazers, Saturday @ Dallas, Tuesday vs. Washington, Wednesday @ Golden State. For the Hornets, Monday vs. Utah, Wednesday @ Milwaukee, Friday @ New York.

• Trail Blazers: Johnson, Oden
• Hornets: Gordon

• Trail Blazers: --
• Hornets: --

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 9

• Arena: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
• Officials: #17 Joe Crawford, #18 Matt Boland, #79 Kevin Scott
• Attendance: 14421
• Duration: 2:19