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Blazers get win in preseason finale
By The Associated Press
Friday, October 23, 2009 | No comments posted.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Brandon Roy scored 22 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 113-93 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night in the final preseason game for both teams.
LaMarcus Aldridge, whose 5-year contract extension was announced earlier in the day, and Travis Outlaw both added 17 points for the Trail Blazers (4-4).
Steve Nash paced Phoenix (4-4) with 14 points and seven assists while Amare Stoudemire and reserve Jared Dudley both added 13 points.
“We did a good job of setting the tone defensively,” Roy said. “On offense, I thought that led to the looks that we’ve been working on.”
The Trail Blazers outrebounded the smaller Suns 50-28, including 16-4 on the offensive glass.
“We’ve got big Greg (Oden),” Roy said. “He gets in there and causes a lot of havoc inside. Any time our big men can get tips and hands on basketballs it’s only going to help us out. They can get us more shots.”
Aldridge had nine rebounds and Oden grabbed seven.
“I feel really disappointed because we got really manhandled,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. “We’ve got to find a way to do a better job on the boards.”
Nash, who grew up in Victoria, drew the loudest cheers from the crowd of 19,700, many of whom wore Suns jerseys. He tossed an autographed shoe into the crowd when the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter.
“The experience is amazing,” he said. “To have a sellout and have incredible support, it felt like a home game to us.”
Fans remembering the Vancouver Grizzlies, who left in 2001 for Memphis, waved signs saying “David Stern, give us back the NBA,” and “Vancouver wants the NBA.” Several members of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks had courtside seats.
Portland led 36-25 after the first quarter when Roy scored 17 points, including three 3-pointers. Phoenix closed the gap to 59-55 at halftime after Grant Hill led them on an 8-0 run to start the second quarter and reserve Leandro Barbosa later contributed nine points.
Portland started the third quarter on an 19-6 run to take control.
“He got them off to a good start early,” Gentry said of Roy. “I thought we played good defense on him but he made a lot of tough shots.”
LaMarcus Aldridge, whose 5-year contract extension was announced earlier in the day, and Travis Outlaw both added 17 points for the Trail Blazers (4-4).
Steve Nash paced Phoenix (4-4) with 14 points and seven assists while Amare Stoudemire and reserve Jared Dudley both added 13 points.
“We did a good job of setting the tone defensively,” Roy said. “On offense, I thought that led to the looks that we’ve been working on.”
The Trail Blazers outrebounded the smaller Suns 50-28, including 16-4 on the offensive glass.
“We’ve got big Greg (Oden),” Roy said. “He gets in there and causes a lot of havoc inside. Any time our big men can get tips and hands on basketballs it’s only going to help us out. They can get us more shots.”
Aldridge had nine rebounds and Oden grabbed seven.
“I feel really disappointed because we got really manhandled,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. “We’ve got to find a way to do a better job on the boards.”
Nash, who grew up in Victoria, drew the loudest cheers from the crowd of 19,700, many of whom wore Suns jerseys. He tossed an autographed shoe into the crowd when the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter.
“The experience is amazing,” he said. “To have a sellout and have incredible support, it felt like a home game to us.”
Fans remembering the Vancouver Grizzlies, who left in 2001 for Memphis, waved signs saying “David Stern, give us back the NBA,” and “Vancouver wants the NBA.” Several members of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks had courtside seats.
Portland led 36-25 after the first quarter when Roy scored 17 points, including three 3-pointers. Phoenix closed the gap to 59-55 at halftime after Grant Hill led them on an 8-0 run to start the second quarter and reserve Leandro Barbosa later contributed nine points.
Portland started the third quarter on an 19-6 run to take control.
“He got them off to a good start early,” Gentry said of Roy. “I thought we played good defense on him but he made a lot of tough shots.”
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