Heat-Trail Blazers Preview

By TAYLOR BECHTOLD
Posted Jan 09 2013 4:58PM

As good as the Portland Trail Blazers have been at home, a visit by the defending NBA champion Miami Heat poses a serious threat to their winning streak.

The Heat, however, are still searching for answers amid their recent struggles.

The Trail Blazers will try for their ninth straight win at home and fourth in a row overall Thursday night when they take on slumping Miami, which makes its second stop on a six-game road trip.

Although they still have the best record in the Eastern Conference, the Heat (23-10) have won only three of their last seven, with two victories coming in overtime and the other against league-worst Washington.

Miami has been exposed on the boards, with a minus-9.2 rebounding margin in its last five games after getting outrebounded by 19 in an 87-77 loss at Indiana on Tuesday night.

Despite LeBron James averaging a career-high 8.3 rebounds, the Heat rank near the bottom of the NBA in rebounding (39.0 per game) and offensive boards (8.0). They're last among East teams in second-chance points allowed at 15.4 per game after being outscored 23-6 in that category Tuesday.

That could be a major concern against a Portland team that ranks fifth in the league in second-chance points (15.3 per game).

"At some point, enough will be enough for us and we'll take care of that department," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the team's rebounding woes.

Miami is just 7-7 on the road but has won its last three trips to Portland.

The Trail Blazers (19-15), meanwhile, have won eight straight at the Rose Garden and now seek their longest home winning streak since a 12-game run in the 2008-09 season.

Portland has won 11 of 14 overall after a 125-119 victory over Orlando on Monday night gave them a 5-0 record in overtime for the first time since 1986-87.

Wesley Matthews has keyed the current three-game win streak, averaging 23.7 points and hitting 14 of 22 from 3-point range.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and 10 rebounds Monday for his fourth double-double in five games. Aldridge, who has averaged 25.7 points in his last three games against the Heat, has reportedly been bothered by a wrist problem but is expected to play.

James has averaged 38.5 points and 11.3 rebounds in the last four meetings with Portland, shooting 65.5 percent from the field and 10 of 15 on 3-pointers. Dwyane Wade also has been tough on the Blazers, averaging 35.0 points over the past three matchups.

James and Wade combined for 71 points in a 107-93 victory at Portland when the teams last met March 1.

This time, Miami hopes to get back on track after finishing with a season-low point total and its second-lowest field goal percentage (41.2) against the defensive-minded Pacers.

The Heat, who lead the NBA in field-goal shooting (48.8 percent), could find scoring tough against a Portland team that has shown improvement on the defensive end.

While they're allowing opponents to average 99.2 points on the season, the Trail Blazers have limited teams to 91.0 in regulation during their eight-game home winning streak.

"We know that if we keep playing defense and we stay the course we can win some games," Aldridge said.

Blazers come from behind to beat Heat 92-90

By ANNE M. PETERSON
Posted Jan 11 2013 2:35AM

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) The upstart Portland Trail Blazers would not allow the Miami Heat to pull out of its funk.

Wesley Matthews hit a 3-pointer to put Portland in front with 26.9 seconds left and the Blazers hung on to beat Miami 92-90 Thursday night for their fourth straight win and ninth straight at the Rose Garden.

The Blazers (20-15) are now 12-3 in their last 15 games.

"Our confidence is extremely high," Matthews said. "Playing hard, playing well, we're having fun out there. So that's a great combination."

The Heat, meanwhile, have lost two straight and five of eight, yet the defending NBA champions are still 23-11 and lead the Eastern Conference by a half-game over New York.

LeBron James had 15 points, snapping his 54-game streak with at least 20 points that dated back to last season. It was his lowest point total in the last 76 regular-season and playoff contests. But James did have 10 rebounds and nine assists against Portland.

Miami led by as many as 13 points, including a 52-39 advantage at the half, but Nicolas Batum hit a layup and a free throw with 4:03 left that pulled Portland into an 82-all tie. The Blazers couldn't go ahead and Bosh made a 3 to make it 87-84 with 1:53 left.

Matthews made a 3-pointer to tie it at 88 with just under a minute to go, and after Chris Bosh dunked, Matthews hit another 3 to finally give the Blazers a 91-90 lead. LaMarcus Aldridge missed the first of two free throws with 10.4 seconds left for the final margin.

Mario Chalmers missed a 3-pointer for the Heat as time ran out.

Batum led the Blazers with 28 points, and Aldridge had 20 points and 15 rebounds. Matthews finished with 18 points.

"It felt great," Matthews said about his go-ahead 3. "It looked better."

Bosh had 29 points for the Eastern Conference-leading Heat, who were coming off an 87-77 loss to the Pacers on Tuesday night. Dwyane Wade had 18 points.

"You can beat yourself up because you want it so bad, but there are the kind of games where you say, `Listen, a team beat us when we played our game,' so you pat them on the back and say, `Good job,"' Wade said.

Portland was coming off a 125-119 win in overtime over Orlando at the Rose Garden on Monday night.

The Blazers led 12-10 early, but missed eight straight shots and Miami took an 18-12 lead on Wade's fast-break layup with 3:25 left in the first quarter. The Heat went up 32-24 on Ray Allen's 3-pointer early in the second.

The Heat extended it with James' dunk and Wade's hook shot to make it 52-39 at the half.

Bosh had nine points in the first eight minutes of the second half as the Heat kept a fairly wide margin. But Portland closed in late when Matthews and Batum made back-to-back layups to make it 65-61. Norris Cole quieted the crowd by answering with a 3-pointer for the Heat.

Batum's 3-pointer and Matthew's fade-away jumper narrowed it to 82-79 with 4:53 left. After rookie Damian Lillard missed a couple of free throws, Batum made a layup and a free throw to tie it up.

"It's an understatement to say it's great to beat Miami. They're a great team, defending champs," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "I gotta hand it to our guys for sticking with it. You keep competition, playing through and finding a way to win games. That's kind of what we did tonight and kind of what we've been doing most of the season."

Lillard, the reigning repeat NBA Rookie of the Month, had 10 points and eight assists and became the first NBA player to make at least 75 3-pointers in his first 35 career games since Allen Iverson in 1996-97.

The Heat were without Shane Battier, who has a sore right hamstring. The move was proactive, coach Eric Spoelstra said before the game.

"It was never a strain, it's just very sore," he said. "But those things can be tricky."

It was the second of a six game road trip for the Heat, who fell to 7-8 on the road this season.

NOTES: Stotts was back after missing practice on Wednesday with a flu bug. Luckily, he said, his mother was visiting. "My wife was out of town so my mom took care of me," the coach said. ... The Heat signed forward Jarvis Varnado to a 10-day contract on Wednesday. Varnado played in five games earlier this season with the Boston Celtics, scoring six points in a total of 18 minutes. The Celtics waived him on Sunday. ... Portland rookie center Meyers Leonard is a ways off from returning from a sprained right ankle. "I wouldn't give him a timeline, but he's not close," Stotts said. ... Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez was at the game.

Notebook: Trail Blazers 92, Heat 90

Kerry Eggers, for NBA.com
Posted Fri Jan 11, 2013 2:36 AM - Updated Fri Jan 11, 2013 2:36 AM

THE FACTS: Wesley Matthews' back-to-back 3-pointers in the final minute lifted Portland to a come-from-behind 92-90 victory over Miami Thursday night at the Rose Garden. It was the 12th win in 15 games and the ninth straight home victory for Portland (20-15), which trailed by 12 points early in the fourth quarter before mounting the rally that had the Garden noise level at its highest crescendo at game's end.

Nicolas Batum collected 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Blazers, who also got 20 points and 15 boards from LaMarcus Aldridge.

Chris Bosh scored 29 points and LeBron James had 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Miami (23-11), which lost for the fifth time in its last eight games.

QUOTABLE: "If I didn't shoot with confidence, they probably weren't going in. That's how this game works. You believe, you play hard, you compete, you play the right way, you play with confidence, and the basketball gods will look out for you."
-- Wesley Matthews

THE STAT: Portland won despite shooting only .375 from the field. Only once this season have the Blazers shot that poorly and won -- .359 in a 101-93 win over Denver on Dec. 20.

TURNING POINT: Miami led 80-68 with eight minutes remaining, then made only three baskets the rest of the way as the Blazers outscored the Heat 24-10 down the stretch.

QUOTABLE II: "We did everything we could, and they made big shots at the end. We gave ourselves a chance to win and we had it, but they took it from us at the end."
-- Miami's Dwyane Wade

HOT: Bosh had one of his best shooting games of the season, stepping outside often while hitting 13-for-18 from the field.

NOT: Other than Batum (8-for-15), the Blazers shot a collective 22-for-65 (.338).

GOOD MOVE: Portland coach Terry Stotts using 6-foot-5 Wesley Matthews on 6-foot-8 LeBron James.

BAD MOVE: James didn't attempt to post up Matthews one time in the game.

QUOTABLE III: "He made him work. LeBron's a great player. He almost had a triple double and we did a good job on him. Wes didn't give him alleys to the basket. [James] got four of his points in transition early in the game. [Matthews] did a nice job of taking away angles and forcing him to be a passer and keeping him away from the rim."
-- Terry Stotts

NOTABLE: James' streak of scoring 20 or more points -- dating to last season, including playoffs -- ended at 54 games. He finished 6-for-16 from the field and scored only three points in the second half.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Saturday @ Sacramento, Monday @ Utah, Wednesday at Golden State. For the Trail Blazers, Friday @ Golden State, Sunday vs. Oklahoma City, Tuesday at Denver.

• Heat: Battier, Pittman
• Trail Blazers: Leonard, Williams

• Heat: --
• Trail Blazers: --

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 9

• Arena: Rose Garden, Portland, OR
• Officials: #25 Tony Brothers, #54 Nick Buchert, #59 Gary Zielinski
• Attendance: 20536
• Duration: 2:24