Hawks-Trail Blazers Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Feb 17 2012 4:51PM

The Portland Trail Blazers are on the verge of their longest home losing streak in nearly six years. If recent history is any indication, the Atlanta Hawks are in good position to make that happen.

Atlanta seeks its seventh consecutive win over Portland, which may be without LaMarcus Aldridge again Saturday night when the teams meet at the Rose Garden.

The Hawks (19-11) have only three victories during an inconsistent eight-game stretch overall, but they won for the fifth time in six road games Wednesday with a 101-99 come-from-behind victory over Phoenix.

Atlanta trailed by as many as 15, but Josh Smith matched his season high with 30 points and added 17 rebounds to aid the comeback.

Willie Green scored a season-high 20 off the bench, helping the Hawks overcome an off night from Joe Johnson, who finished 2 for 10 from the field for six points.

"I just wanted to be a little aggressive," Smith said. "I know they were keying on Joe and we needed offense somewhere else and me and Willie picked up the slack tonight."

Coach Larry Drew lauded Smith, who played nearly 45 minutes.

"(Johnson) said, 'Leave him out there. He's young,'" Drew said. "I thought he was tired and he played (nearly 33 minutes Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers). I wanted to give him a quick blow. He wanted to stay in and I am glad he did because he played a phenomenal game. Inside and out and defensively he was all over the place."

Smith scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Johnson scored a game-high 24 in a 92-89 home win over Portland on Jan. 18 - the Hawks' sixth straight win in the series after dropping 13 of the previous 14 meetings.

Jamal Crawford scored a team-high 22 points off the bench in that contest for the Blazers (16-15), who blew an 18-point third-quarter lead Thursday in a 74-71 home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

"It was a collapse. A total collapse," said Crawford, who along with Nicolas Batum scored a team-high 19 points. "In the fourth quarter, it felt like we started playing like we were playing from behind, and we were up. They became the aggressors. We were the aggressors the first three quarters."

Aldridge sat out his second straight game after spraining his left ankle in Tuesday's loss to visiting Washington. Portland's top scorer is questionable for Saturday's contest as the Blazers hope to avoid losing five consecutive home games for the first time since March 20-April 1, 2006.

Without Aldridge on Thursday - and with the team playing its third game in as many nights - Portland was outrebounded 47-35 while scoring its fewest points since a 72-65 loss to San Antonio on April 6, 2008.

The Blazers may look to Crawford - who spent the last two seasons with Atlanta before signing with Portland as a free agent - to pick up the scoring slack if Aldridge is sidelined again. Crawford has averaged 23.2 points in his last five games against the Hawks, hitting 16 of 30 3-point attempts in that stretch.

Johnson has averaged 25.6 points in his last 10 against the Blazers, while Smith has four straight double-doubles versus Portland.

The Hawks' recent victories in the series haven't been blowouts - the last five meetings were each decided by nine points or fewer.

Blazers beat Hawks 97-77 to end home losing streak

By ANNE M. PETERSON
Posted Feb 19 2012 1:59AM

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) A little "Raymond Time" did the trick for Trail Blazers guard Raymond Felton.

Felton had 14 points and eight assists in Portland's 97-77 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night, breaking out of a personal slump that had thrown his starting role into question.

He failed to score in Portland's previous game, a 74-71 loss to the Clippers in which the Blazers squandered an 18-point, third-quarter advantage. He had been averaging just 9.9 points, well off his average of 15.5 last season with New York and Denver.

Felton said he'd been working with a shooting coach, but more importantly, he took some time to himself - dubbed "Raymond Time" - to take a hard look at what was happening.

The introspection paid off against the Hawks, and Felton was instrumental in helping the Blazers snap a four-game home losing streak.

"It felt good," he said. "And I think everybody else was happy with it as well."

LaMarcus Aldridge, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds in his return from a left ankle injury, was among those pleased with Felton's apparent breakthrough.

"(He) controlled the game from start to finish, made shots, got guys easy shots," Aldridge said. "I thought he showed us who he is and what he can do."

Nicolas Batum had 22 points for Portland, which hasn't lost five straight at home since the 2005-06 season.

Joe Johnson had 19 points for Atlanta, which came into the game with a six-game winning streak over the Blazers.

Josh Smith added 14 points and 10 rebounds in the Hawks' sixth loss in their last nine games.

"The bounces weren't going our way, but that's when we have to be a little more desperate," Smith said. "They were making shots early on. Then we were able to play some good defense, but we gave up some long rebounds."

Aldridge, Portland's top scorer who will play in his first All-Star game next weekend, sprained his left ankle Tuesday night in a loss at home to Washington. He started and hit his first four shots and added three assists in the first 10 minutes.

The Blazers were motivated from the start and took a 24-17 lead on Batum's put-back layup. Gerald Wallace extended the lead to 12 at 31-19 with a 3-pointer.

Felton capped the first half with a running jumper that made it 52-37 at the break. Atlanta made just three field goals in the second quarter to help out Portland.

The Blazers pushed the lead to 19 points midway through the third quarter when Felton hit a 3-pointer to make it 61-42.

Blazers coach Nate McMillan has shuffled the starting lineup of late, as the team dealt with Aldridge's injury and losses in five of its previous seven games.

Batum has started the last four games and has been in double figures in all of them. His 3-pointer as the game drew to a close made it 92-72.

"With Batum in the starting line-up, it makes them a bigger, more athletic team," Johnson said. "He played great tonight. He's been feeding off the (crowd's) energy."

There had been talk that Felton's days as a starter were numbered, but McMillan didn't make that change Saturday, and Felton took advantage.

McMillan said before Saturday's game that he had talked to Felton and the two had cleared the air about comments Felton made to a reporter earlier this week about his perception that the team lacked confidence in him.

"I thought he played free tonight. He looked pretty loose," McMillan said. "It was good to see his shot fall and get some confidence there. Hopefully he can continue from here."

Johnson was wearing a soft brace on his left knee because of tendinitis, but it didn't appear to cause him too much trouble. Coach Larry Drew said Johnson tried to rest it over the past few days while the Hawks had a break in the schedule.

"Tonight was just one of those nights where the energy level just wasn't up where it needed to be," Johnson said.

Notes: Atlanta C Erick Dampier's 10-day contract was up following the game. Drew said a decision hadn't been immediately made about re-signing him. The Hawks signed Dampier to help shore up the position in the absence of Jason Collins, who is out with a sprained left elbow. ... Jamal Crawford spent the last two seasons in Atlanta before joining the Blazers as a free agent this season. He did not score Saturday night against his former team, playing for just 13 minutes.

Notebook: Trail Blazers 97, Hawks 77

Posted Sunday February 19, 2012 1:48AM

By Kerry Eggers, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Nicolas Batum scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Portland past Atlanta 97-77 Saturday night at the Rose Garden. The Trail Blazers (17-15) also got 19 points and 10 rebounds from LaMarcus Aldridge, returning after missing two games with a sprained left ankle. Joe Johnson scored 19 points for Atlanta (19-12), on the third game of a five-game road trip. Teammate Josh Smith finished an assist shy of a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

QUOTABLE: "We came out from the start and put pressure on them. If you give anybody life, they can find it. But we kept working and ended up winning the game."
-- Aldridge

THE STAT: The Blazers, who had been outrebounded in seven of their previous eight games, won the rebound battle 50-27.

TURNING POINT: Portland led 33-28 early in the second quarter, but the Blazers outscored the Hawks 19-9 the rest of the quarter to go into the half ahead 52-37. Atlanta never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

QUOTABLE II: "We got off to a good start, but (the Blazers) got off to a good start, too. We just had too many (defensive) breakdowns in the second quarter. They made shots and then we didn't make shots."
-- Atlanta coach Larry Drew, whose Hawks started the game 8-for-11, then were 22-for-62 (.355) the rest of the way.

HOT: Portland made 14 of its first 18 shots and ran out to a 33-25 lead after one quarter, two points shy of its season-high scoring total for the first period.

NOT: Atlanta's Jeff Teague was 1-for-10 from the field, including 0-for-3 from 3-point range.

QUOTABLE III: "The bounces weren't going our way, but that's when we have to be a little more desperate. They were able to get their hands on balls and give themselves second opportunities to score."
-- Smith

INSIDE THE ARENA: The crowd announced at 20,635 was the Blazers' 176th straight sellout at the Rose Garen dating to December 2007.

GOOD MOVE: Portland went to Aldridge early and he responded with four straight baskets in the opening 4 1/2 minutes.

NOTABLE: Portland snapped a four-game home losing streak, its longest since December 2006/January 2007. The Blazers had also lost six straight to Atlanta in the series dating to February 2009.

UP NEXT: For the Blazers, Monday @ L.A. Lakers, Tuesday @ San Antonio, Feb. 29 @ Denver. For the Hawks, Monday @ Chicago, Wednesday @ New York, Thursday @ Orlando.

• Hawks: Collins, Horford
• Trail Blazers: Johnson, Oden

• Hawks: --
• Trail Blazers: Matthews, Wallace

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Rose Garden, Portland, OR
• Officials: #10 Ron Garretson, #18 Matt Boland, #50 Olandis Poole
• Attendance: 20635
• Duration: 2:02