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Portland starts road trip with win at Orlando
By Mark Wangrin, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 | No comments posted.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Portland has faced the NBA’s best and broken even.
The Trail Blazers, who played six of their first seven games against teams that had won at least 52 games last season, beat Orlando 106-99 on Monday night for their third-straight win and first on the road.
Brandon Roy scored 27 points to lead the Blazers. Dwight Howard, battling a chest cold, had 29 points and a season-high 19 rebounds. Hedo Turkoglu added 35 points for the Magic, who finished their homestand 4-1.
Point guard Steve Blake and reserve Travis Outlaw had 20 apiece as Portland’s bench outscored Orlando’s 40-12.
Portland had opened with the Lakers, Spurs, Suns, Jazz and Rockets, who had all won at least 54 games last season. Including the 52-win Magic, the Blazers are 3-3 in those games.
Trailing 73-72 entering the final period, Portland scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter, fueled by two 3-pointers by Rudy Fernandez. He finished with 16 points.
The Trail Blazers held a 91-79 lead with 3:55 left before Turkoglu did his best to keep Orlando close, scoring 11 of their next 13 points. His 3-pointer cut it to 98-92 with 50 seconds left, but the Blazers were 8-for-10 from the foul line after that to seal the victory.
“This has been part of the reason we’ve lost our first couple games, not being able to finish games off,” said Blazers coach Nate McMillan. “Not only did I talk about, but they talked about winning the third and fourth quarter and getting stronger down the stretch.”
Orlando didn’t have a field goal in an 11-minute, 3-second stretch spanning the third and fourth quarters, during which a 72-68 lead became a 87-75 deficit.
“When the ball doesn’t go in we don’t stay with our game plan,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “Everybody was forcing plays and sort of got out of what we want to do.”
The Magic shot only 29.2 percent from behind the arc, which Van Gundy attributed to poor ball movement.
“This team is built to play around Dwight, spread the floor and have guys who can shoot it,” Van Gundy said. “And we’re not shooting. That’s a major problem for us.”
Howard, who has struggled at the line this season shooting just 48 percent (15-for-33) was 9-for-12 in the first half before missing four of six tries in the fourth quarter as the Magic tried to cut into Portland’s lead.
“He’s a big part of what they do and him missing the free throws took them out of their rhythm,” Roy said. “I think that was Channing (Frye) and LaMarcus (Aldridge) doing a great job of trying to fight with that monster.”
Outlaw, who played 41 minutes, more than any Blazers’ starter, made 3-of-5 3-pointers.
“He’s the guy down the stretch that we’ve been going to over the years and tonight when the offense stalled he was able to get us a couple of buckets,” McMillan said. “We got our confidence back.”
The Magic embarks on a three-game road swing, including a Friday stop in Dallas. Portland stays on the road for three more games before returning home.
Notes: The game had 10 ties and 14 lead changes. ... Greg Oden, the No. 1 pick who sat out all of last season after knee microfracture surgery, missed the game with a right foot injury sustained in the season-opener. Joel Pryzbilla, who’s averaging 4.5 points and 9.7 rebounds, continues to start in his place. Pryzbilla did not score in the first half and finished with two points. ... Howard is averaging 25 points and 14.4 rebounds over the past five games. ... After facing Miami on Wednesday, Portland is at New Orleans on Friday, Minnesota on Saturday and Golden State next Tuesday.
The Trail Blazers, who played six of their first seven games against teams that had won at least 52 games last season, beat Orlando 106-99 on Monday night for their third-straight win and first on the road.
Brandon Roy scored 27 points to lead the Blazers. Dwight Howard, battling a chest cold, had 29 points and a season-high 19 rebounds. Hedo Turkoglu added 35 points for the Magic, who finished their homestand 4-1.
Point guard Steve Blake and reserve Travis Outlaw had 20 apiece as Portland’s bench outscored Orlando’s 40-12.
Portland had opened with the Lakers, Spurs, Suns, Jazz and Rockets, who had all won at least 54 games last season. Including the 52-win Magic, the Blazers are 3-3 in those games.
Trailing 73-72 entering the final period, Portland scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter, fueled by two 3-pointers by Rudy Fernandez. He finished with 16 points.
The Trail Blazers held a 91-79 lead with 3:55 left before Turkoglu did his best to keep Orlando close, scoring 11 of their next 13 points. His 3-pointer cut it to 98-92 with 50 seconds left, but the Blazers were 8-for-10 from the foul line after that to seal the victory.
“This has been part of the reason we’ve lost our first couple games, not being able to finish games off,” said Blazers coach Nate McMillan. “Not only did I talk about, but they talked about winning the third and fourth quarter and getting stronger down the stretch.”
Orlando didn’t have a field goal in an 11-minute, 3-second stretch spanning the third and fourth quarters, during which a 72-68 lead became a 87-75 deficit.
“When the ball doesn’t go in we don’t stay with our game plan,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “Everybody was forcing plays and sort of got out of what we want to do.”
The Magic shot only 29.2 percent from behind the arc, which Van Gundy attributed to poor ball movement.
“This team is built to play around Dwight, spread the floor and have guys who can shoot it,” Van Gundy said. “And we’re not shooting. That’s a major problem for us.”
Howard, who has struggled at the line this season shooting just 48 percent (15-for-33) was 9-for-12 in the first half before missing four of six tries in the fourth quarter as the Magic tried to cut into Portland’s lead.
“He’s a big part of what they do and him missing the free throws took them out of their rhythm,” Roy said. “I think that was Channing (Frye) and LaMarcus (Aldridge) doing a great job of trying to fight with that monster.”
Outlaw, who played 41 minutes, more than any Blazers’ starter, made 3-of-5 3-pointers.
“He’s the guy down the stretch that we’ve been going to over the years and tonight when the offense stalled he was able to get us a couple of buckets,” McMillan said. “We got our confidence back.”
The Magic embarks on a three-game road swing, including a Friday stop in Dallas. Portland stays on the road for three more games before returning home.
Notes: The game had 10 ties and 14 lead changes. ... Greg Oden, the No. 1 pick who sat out all of last season after knee microfracture surgery, missed the game with a right foot injury sustained in the season-opener. Joel Pryzbilla, who’s averaging 4.5 points and 9.7 rebounds, continues to start in his place. Pryzbilla did not score in the first half and finished with two points. ... Howard is averaging 25 points and 14.4 rebounds over the past five games. ... After facing Miami on Wednesday, Portland is at New Orleans on Friday, Minnesota on Saturday and Golden State next Tuesday.
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