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Blazers blow out Bulls to stay perfect at home
By The Associated Press
Thursday, November 20, 2008 | No comments posted.
PORTLAND — A sellout crowd of 20,599 fans showed up at the Rose Garden to watch Greg Oden make his home debut with the Portland Trail Blazers.
By the time Oden, sidelined all of last season by a knee injury, entered the game with 4:28 left in the first quarter, the show was already on in the Trail Blazers’ 116-74 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
When Oden entered to a standing ovation, the Blazers had a 23-7 lead. Oden didn’t wait long to contribute, dunking 21 seconds after coming off the bench.
Playing 17 minutes, the 2007 first overall draft pick had 11 points, 10 rebounds and blocked three shots. Oden played in Portland’s season debut in Los Angeles, then missed the next six games because of a foot injury.
“It was good for me to finally be home,” Oden said. “Just to be home and finally have my people see me play was great.”
Brandon Roy scored 20 points to help Portland improve to 6-2 in its last eight and 7-5 overall. Chicago has lost four of its last six to fall to 5-7.
Portland outscored Chicago in every quarter and established season highs for points in the first half (62) and game. Portland shot nearly 51 percent from the field (42-for-83) and outrebounded Chicago 49-33.
The Blazers said they were motivated after a loss to Golden State on Tuesday.
“I’m proud of the way we bounced back. We wanted to dominate these guys for 48 minutes,” said Roy, who played 28 minutes in the blowout.
Oden made three field goals, two on dunks, and was 5-for-6 from the line. Oden’s best play came on defense during the fourth quarter, when he blocked consecutive shots by Chicago’s Tyrus Thomas.
“I’m just focusing on defense and rebounding right now. Everything else is just extra,” said Oden, who had a double-double for the third time in four games. Portland fans weren’t the only ones wanting to see Oden’s home debut.
“We’ve been waiting to get him here, and he did a great job,” Roy said. “He’s a huge part of what we are trying to do.”
Oden overshadowed the performance of Joel Przybilla, who scored a season-high 14 points and had nine rebounds and three blocks. Przybilla didn’t escape the attention of Blazers coach Nate McMillan, however.
“I think Joel is setting a great example for what we want from a ’big’ at the defensive end,” McMillan said. “It’s good for Greg to see that from Joel to get a good idea of what we want from him.”
The game featured the No. 1 overall picks the last two years, Oden from 2007 and Chicago guard Derrick Rose from 2008. It turned out to be a mere sidebar because of the score. Rose was 1-for-8 from the field and scored a season-low six points, his first single-digit performance in the NBA.
Portland led from the first basket, a 3-pointer by Nicolas Batum. The Blazers built on the 16-3 lead with a 9-0 run later in the first quarter to take a 34-13 advantage into the second quarter. Led by Roy and Oden in the second quarter, the Blazers took a 62-32 lead before settling for a 25-point advantage at halftime.
The third quarter was more of the same. Leading 68-47 midway through the quarter, Portland put the game away with a 14-0 run, highlighted by a lob pass from Roy to LaMarcus Aldridge for a dunk.
The Blazers led by as many as 47 points. Andres Nocioni led Chicago with 13 points.
The Blazers improved to 4-0 at the Rose Garden. The only other NBAteams without a home loss are Utah and Cleveland.
It was Portland’s first home game after playing five straight on the road. They are back on the road for games Friday and Saturday against Sacramento and Phoenix.
Chicago was playing its second contest in a seven-game road trip.
By the time Oden, sidelined all of last season by a knee injury, entered the game with 4:28 left in the first quarter, the show was already on in the Trail Blazers’ 116-74 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
When Oden entered to a standing ovation, the Blazers had a 23-7 lead. Oden didn’t wait long to contribute, dunking 21 seconds after coming off the bench.
Playing 17 minutes, the 2007 first overall draft pick had 11 points, 10 rebounds and blocked three shots. Oden played in Portland’s season debut in Los Angeles, then missed the next six games because of a foot injury.
“It was good for me to finally be home,” Oden said. “Just to be home and finally have my people see me play was great.”
Brandon Roy scored 20 points to help Portland improve to 6-2 in its last eight and 7-5 overall. Chicago has lost four of its last six to fall to 5-7.
Portland outscored Chicago in every quarter and established season highs for points in the first half (62) and game. Portland shot nearly 51 percent from the field (42-for-83) and outrebounded Chicago 49-33.
The Blazers said they were motivated after a loss to Golden State on Tuesday.
“I’m proud of the way we bounced back. We wanted to dominate these guys for 48 minutes,” said Roy, who played 28 minutes in the blowout.
Oden made three field goals, two on dunks, and was 5-for-6 from the line. Oden’s best play came on defense during the fourth quarter, when he blocked consecutive shots by Chicago’s Tyrus Thomas.
“I’m just focusing on defense and rebounding right now. Everything else is just extra,” said Oden, who had a double-double for the third time in four games. Portland fans weren’t the only ones wanting to see Oden’s home debut.
“We’ve been waiting to get him here, and he did a great job,” Roy said. “He’s a huge part of what we are trying to do.”
Oden overshadowed the performance of Joel Przybilla, who scored a season-high 14 points and had nine rebounds and three blocks. Przybilla didn’t escape the attention of Blazers coach Nate McMillan, however.
“I think Joel is setting a great example for what we want from a ’big’ at the defensive end,” McMillan said. “It’s good for Greg to see that from Joel to get a good idea of what we want from him.”
The game featured the No. 1 overall picks the last two years, Oden from 2007 and Chicago guard Derrick Rose from 2008. It turned out to be a mere sidebar because of the score. Rose was 1-for-8 from the field and scored a season-low six points, his first single-digit performance in the NBA.
Portland led from the first basket, a 3-pointer by Nicolas Batum. The Blazers built on the 16-3 lead with a 9-0 run later in the first quarter to take a 34-13 advantage into the second quarter. Led by Roy and Oden in the second quarter, the Blazers took a 62-32 lead before settling for a 25-point advantage at halftime.
The third quarter was more of the same. Leading 68-47 midway through the quarter, Portland put the game away with a 14-0 run, highlighted by a lob pass from Roy to LaMarcus Aldridge for a dunk.
The Blazers led by as many as 47 points. Andres Nocioni led Chicago with 13 points.
The Blazers improved to 4-0 at the Rose Garden. The only other NBAteams without a home loss are Utah and Cleveland.
It was Portland’s first home game after playing five straight on the road. They are back on the road for games Friday and Saturday against Sacramento and Phoenix.
Chicago was playing its second contest in a seven-game road trip.
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