Wizards-Trail Blazers Preview

By JUSTIN EINHORN
Posted Feb 13 2012 1:50PM

Nearly four years have passed since the Portland Trail Blazers lost three consecutive home games. They seem to have a good chance to prevent that from happening even facing a team coming off its most lopsided road win in about the same span.

Portland looks to recover from another deflating loss and return to its winning ways at the Rose Garden in a matchup with the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.

The Blazers (15-13) had been 11-1 at home before dropping their last two games there to Oklahoma City last Monday and Houston on Wednesday. They bounced back to win in New Orleans on Friday before falling 97-94 at Dallas in double overtime the following night.

It was their ninth straight defeat in games decided by five points or fewer and they fell to 0-3 in overtime games, including last week's home loss to the Thunder.

"We've just got to make breaks for ourselves," coach Nate McMillan told the Blazers' official website after Saturday's loss. "We have opportunities and we've had them all season long where you've got to make plays. You've got to make shots, you've got to get stops, and, again, tonight we don't make shots when we have the opportunity."

Portland has not lost three in a row at the Rose Garden since March 29-April 6, 2008.

The Wizards (6-22) haven't won there since March 28, 2005, losing six times. They've been outscored by an average of 17.5 points in the last four visits, getting held to 79.8 per game.

Washington has lost 13 of 15 road games going back to last season but heads to Portland after opening a five-game trip with a 98-77 win at Detroit on Sunday. JaVale McGee had a second straight double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Nick Young scored 22 for a second consecutive game.

It was the Wizards' largest margin of victory on the road since a 101-77 win in Milwaukee on Jan. 4, 2008.

"This is a momentum builder for us, hopefully," coach Randy Wittman said.

However, Wittman's club is 1-16 against teams that currently have winning records. Plus, the Wizards have won just twice in their last 25 road games against Western Conference foes.

John Wall offset a nine-point, 3-of-10 shooting effort Sunday by matching a career high with 15 assists despite seven turnovers. However, he shot 6 for 25 in two meetings with Portland during his rookie season, averaging 9.5 points with nearly as many turnovers (eight) as assists (nine).

The last meeting was dominated by Portland's starting frontcourt, with Gerald Wallace, LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum combining for 72 points in a 111-76 home win March 22.

Aldridge, named an All-Star for the first time last week, had 33 points and 12 rebounds Saturday to help Portland overcome an 18-point deficit and force overtime. He was held to a combined 27 and 12 in his previous two games.

Batum has been coming off the bench but could start in place of center Marcus Camby, who hurt his right ankle against Dallas and was unable to finish the game.

Teammate Jamal Crawford averaged 22.0 points in four games last week but shot 6 of 23 on Saturday, including 1 of 7 from 3-point range.

Young scores 35, Wizards win in Portland, 124-109

Posted Feb 15 2012 2:25AM

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) The Washington Wizards are turning into road warriors.

Nick Young scored a season-high 35 points, John Wall added 29 points and nine assists, and the Wizards beat the Portland Trail Blazers 124-109 Tuesday night for their second straight road win.

Jordan Crawford added 21 points for Washington, which put together its best game of the season, shooting 60 percent from the field and 52 percent on 3-pointers. Young was 7 of 8 from behind the arc.

"It just felt good getting those 3s knocked down." Young said. "We were all jelling off each other. I feel like we are turning into a good team."

Nicolas Batum tied a career high with 33 points for the Blazers (15-14), who lost All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge to an ankle injury early in the game. Gerald Wallace had 25 points and eight assists, and Marcus Camby added 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Aldridge was hurt less than two minutes into the game when he landed on Trevor Booker's foot, let out a cry and fell to the ground holding his ankle. The power forward was helped off the court and did not return, although the team reported that X-rays were negative.

"I think when he went down the life went out of us," Camby said. "It's sad but true."

The Wizards (7-22) were coming off an electrifying comeback win over Detroit in which they had a 39-10 second-half run.

"It shows that we can definitely compete with anybody," Crawford said. "We just have to do it tonight."

Portland had lost its last two at the Rose Garden after starting the season 11-1 at home. The Blazers had a demoralizing 97-94 double-overtime loss to Dallas Saturday that led to widespread criticism of Portland's starting guards, Wesley Matthews and Raymond Felton, who combined for 16 points on 7-of-27 shooting.

One day after icily defending his rotation to the media, Portland coach Nate McMillan started Batum in place of Felton. The 6-foot-9 Batum responded quickly, scoring 11 points in the first quarter.

However, Portland looked deflated after losing Aldridge. The Wizards dominated the boards and Young, Wall and Crawford punished a sagging Blazer defense both from outside and with dribble penetration. The Wizards 58-46 at the half.

"There was no defense," McMillan said. "We didn't control the ball at all tonight."

The Blazers put together two small runs but never seriously contested the lead. Portland cut the lead to seven but the Wizards made nine straight shots, with Young hitting back to back 3-pointers and Wall going coast-to-coast to put Wizards up 78-63 with 6:55 left in the third.

Wallace scored eight straight points for Portland to cut the lead to 115-107 with 2:30 left in the game, but Young knocked down another 3 and JaVale McGee dunked to put the game out of reach.

NOTES: Portland last lost three in a row at home between March 29 and April 6, 2008. ... McGee had his 10th double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds for Washington. ... The Wizards are 5-7 under coach Randy Wittman, who replaced Flip Saunders after a 2-15 start.

Notebook: Wizards 124, Blazers 109

Posted Wednesday February 15, 2012 1:48AM

By Kerry Eggers, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Nick Young scored a season-high 33 points and had plenty of help as Washington blew away Portland 124-109 Tuesday night at the Rose Garden. Young sank 12 of 17 shots, including 7-for-8 3-pointers, as the Wizards (7-22) rolled to their second straight win to start a five-game road trip. John Wall added 29 points and Jordan Crawford 21 as the three Wizards guards combined for 83 points. Nicolas Batum tied his career high with 33 points for the Blazers (15-14), who lost their third straight game at home. The Blazers lost All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge to a sprained left ankle 1:55 into the game.

QUOTABLE: "That's as complete a game as we've played this year. Our guys were in tune. We moved the ball as well as we've moved it. We shot the heck out of it."
-- Washington coach Randy Wittman.

THE STAT: Washington shot .600 from the field, including .529 (9-for-17) from 3-point range.

TURNING POINT: Portland trimmed a 17-point deficit to nine at 89-82 late in the third quarter. The Wizards responded with an 8-0 run to jack the lead to 15 at 97-82, and the Blazers never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

QUOTABLE II: "We say we are a defensive team, blah blah blah. When [the Wizards] score more than 28 in each quarter, that's a bad game -- maybe the worst game we've played this year. Defensively for sure; overall, one of the worst."
-- Portland's Nicolas Batum.

HOT: Young, Wall and Crawford combined to make 31 of 47 shots from the field -- 9-for-13 on 3s.

NOT: Portland's Jamal Crawford never got his game going, hitting 1-for-5 shots from the field and scoring three points in 23 minutes off the bench.

QUOTABLE III: "When [LaMarcus Aldridge] went down, that took the life out of us. Sad, but it's true. We didn't come with the mindset that we had at shootaround for a game we desperately needed to win."
-- Portland's Marcus Camby on the loss of teammate Aldridge to a sprained left ankle two minutes into the game.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Russell Hornsby, actor on the television show "Grimm," was in the house.

GOOD MOVE: Coach Nate McMillan started Batum at shooting guard in place of Wesley Matthews. Batum was terrific as a starter and Matthews was productive off the bench with 15 points and five rebounds.

BAD MOVE: Unintentionally, Aldridge came down on the foot of defender Trevor Booker after sinking a fadeaway jump shot early. It was the end of Aldridge's night.

NOTABLE: Washington entered the game averaging 90.3 points, 25th in the NBA. The Wizards beat their average by nearly 34 points. It was the most points Portland has given up this season, well above the 111 yielded in an overtime loss to Oklahoma City on Feb. 6.

UP NEXT: For the Blazers, Wednesday at Golden State, Thursday vs. L.A. Clippers, Saturday vs. Atlanta. For the Wizards, Wednesday at L.A. Clippers, Friday at Utah, Monday at Phoenix.

• Wizards: Turiaf
• Trail Blazers: Johnson, Oden

• Wizards: --
• Trail Blazers: McMillan

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Rose Garden, Portland, OR
• Officials: #59 Gary Zielinski, #56 Mark Ayotte, #58 Josh Tiven
• Attendance: 20558
• Duration: 2:12