Portland Trail Blazers Blog – Page 43 – NBA Blog

Greg Oden hopes to return to NBA next season

Nearly a year removed from his latest knee surgery, former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden has decided to resume his playing career but is not planning to return to the NBA before the 2013-14 season, according to sources close to the situation.

Sources told ESPN.com that multiple teams have already expressed interest in signing Oden to a multi-year deal before the end of this season that would allow him to continue his rehab until he can get back on the court in training camp next fall.

The Miami Heat are at the front of the line in pursuing Oden, two sources said, and have been keeping tabs as he recovers while also taking classes at Ohio State.

Sources say that the Heat, though, are not alone in their pursuit of the former No. 1 overall pick.

— Reported by Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com

Trail Blazers recall Nolan Smith and Will Barton from D-League

The Portland Trail Blazers have recalled guards Nolan Smith and Will Barton from the team’s NBA Development League affiliate, the Idaho Stampede, it was announced today by General Manager Neil Olshey.

Portland assigned Smith and Barton to the Stampede on Sunday, Jan. 6. The guards played in both of Idaho’s games at the 2013 NBA D-League Showcase in Reno, Nev., on Monday, Jan. 7 and Tuesday, Jan. 8.

Smith posted averages of 22.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.00 steal and 38.0 minutes per game. Smith led Idaho with a game-high 28 points on Jan. 7 against Texas.

Barton averaged 14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.50 steals and 33.5 minutes per contest. The first-year guard out of Memphis tied for the team lead in rebounds (8) and assists (6) vs. Texas on Jan. 7.

Both players will be in Portland for today’s practice and are available for tomorrow’s game vs. Miami.

Trail Blazers beat Magic 125-119 in overti

Wesley Matthews thinks the Trail Blazers are better suited for overtime.

That made it tough on the Orlando Magic, who were handed their ninth straight loss in Portland’s 125-119 overtime victory on Monday night. The Blazers have won all five of their games that have gone into extra periods this season.

LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers with 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Matthews finished with 24 points – including a dunk that all but sealed it with less than a minute left.

Both teams were clearly exhausted by the end.

”It’s alright. We’ll take it,” Matthews said. ”For whatever reason, this team is built for overtime. I’d rather not go into it, I’d rather win it in regulation. But we dug deep.”

J.J. Hickson added 20 points and 15 rebounds for his 20th double-double this season for the Blazers, who have won three straight overall and 11 of their last 14 games.

It was Portland’s eighth straight win at the Rose Garden.

Nicolas Batum, who finished with 16 points and 10 assists, said Portland’s OT successes are a credit to how well the players have come to know each other.

— Reported by Anne M. Peterson of the Associated Press

Trail Blazers assign Will Barton and Nolan Smith to D-League

The Portland Trail Blazers have assigned guards Will Barton and Nolan Smith to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League, it was announced today by Trail Blazers General Manager Neil Olshey.

The two players will join the Stampede for the NBA Development League Showcase in Reno, Nev. The Stampede are first scheduled to play on Monday, Jan. 7, against Texas.

Barton appeared in two games (both starts) with the Stampede from Dec. 7-8, posting averages of 19.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 42.0 minutes per game. The 6-foot-6 rookie has played in 28 games for the Trail Blazers this season, averaging 2.9 points and 1.4 rebounds in 10.1 minutes. Barton was selected by the Trail Blazers with the 40 th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.

In 18 games this season with the Trail Blazers, Smith is averaging 2.5 points and 1.2 assists in 8.2 minutes per game. Now in his second NBA season, Smith was selected by the Trail Blazers with the 21 st pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Wes Matthews scores 21 to lead Blazers past Grizzlies

The Portland Trail Blazers turned up the defense down the stretch to turn back the Grizzlies.

Wesley Matthews scored 21 points, J.J. Hickson added 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Portland beat Memphis 86-84 on Friday night.

Rudy Gay’s jumper from near the top of the key was off the mark as time expired, allowing the Trail Blazers to escape a closely played game that saw nine ties and 21 lead changes.

”I thought we played very good team defense,” said LaMarcus Aldridge, who had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Portland. ”We played their tendencies very well down the stretch. We had talked about it all game, about knowing what guys were going to do, and I thought down the stretch we guarded that.”

Nicolas Batum and Damian Lillard added 11 points apiece for the Trail Blazers, Lillard also handing out eight assists, as Portland won for the ninth time in its last 12 games.

Marreese Speights had a season-high 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Grizzlies in place of Zach Randolph, who missed the game with flu-like symptoms. Gay had 19 points, but was 8 of 21 from the field.

Marc Gasol scored 12 points and had a career-best eight blocks. Darrell Arthur contributed 10 points off the Memphis bench.

— Reported by Clay Bailey of the Associated Press

Terrence Ross scores 26, hot Raptors beat Trail Blazers

The last time they played Portland, the Toronto Raptors were at their worst. On Wednesday night, they showed just how much they’ve turned things around.

Terrence Ross scored a career-high 26 points, DeMar DeRozan had 24 and the Raptors snapped an eight-game losing streak against Portland by beating the Trail Blazers 102-79.

”This team beat us by a lot last time,” Ross said. ”We had to get our revenge.”

Ross and the Raptors were bent on reversing what happened in their most recent meeting with the Blazers: an 18-point loss at Portland on Dec. 10, the final game in an 0-5 road trip in which starters Kyle Lowry and Andrea Bargnani left injured, Amir Johnson was ejected for throwing his mouthguard at a referee and the Blazers won despite setting an NBA record for shooting futility, missing all 20 of their 3-point attempts.

”They hit bottom when they came to Portland,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said before the rematch.

Things sure have changed. This was Toronto’s eighth win in nine games, a surge that has wiped out talk of coaching changes and locker room discord…

Ed Davis had 19 points and Amir Johnson 17 in Toronto’s first victory over the Trail Blazers since a 116-109 double-overtime win on Jan. 13, 2008.

Ross had a career-best six 3-pointers as the Raptors opened their season-high six-game homestand in style, never trailing and leading by as many as 25.

— Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

Melo scores 45, Stoudemire returns, but Knicks lose to Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers overcame Carmelo Anthony’s season high-tying 45 points and spoiled Amare Stoudemire’s season debut, beating the New York Knicks 105-100 on Tuesday night.

Nicolas Batum scored 26 points, Damian Lillard had 21 points, six assists and five rebounds, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Portland.

Stoudemire finished with six points on 3-of-8 shooting and one rebound in 17 minutes off the bench in his return from knee surgery. Anthony shot 14 of 24 and nearly led the Knicks back from 19 points down after missing two games with a knee injury, but the Trail Blazers had too many options.

J.J. Hickson scored all of his 18 points in the first half as Portland won for the third time in four games.

Anthony had missed the previous two games with a hyperextended left knee. The Knicks are still without point guard Raymond Felton because of a broken pinky finger and struggled to get their offense going until too late, losing for the third time in four games.

J.R. Smith had 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks.

Stoudemire had surgery on Oct. 31 to clean up tissue in his left knee and decided to play after going through a couple of practices this week, though adding he wasn’t yet 100 percent.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

DeMarcus Cousins not with Kings in Portland

Kings center DeMarcus Cousins is not with the team and will not play against the Portland Trail Blazers.

It was coach Keith Smart’s decision not to bring Cousins on the trip.

Cousins was reinstated from an indefinite suspension Monday, but Smart said reinstatement meant Cousins would be allowed to practice, not necessarily play.

This will be the second game Cousins has missed since his verbal altercation at halftime of last Friday’s loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles.

— Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (Blog)

Nuggets hit 0-of-22 three-pointers in loss to Trail Blazers

J.J. Hickson had 18 points and 18 rebounds for his sixth straight double-double, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 101-93 on Thursday night.

Nicolas Batum had 22 points to give the Blazers their first four-game winning streak of the season despite missing forward LaMarcus Aldridge because of a sprained left ankle.

The Nuggets were 0 for 22 from 3-point range, breaking the NBA record of 20 misses set by the Trail Blazers in a game against Toronto last week. Seventy-four of Denver’s point came in the paint.

The Blazers led by as many as 18 in the first half and while the Nuggets were able to close the gap, they were never able to pull even…

Portland saw the return of Matthews, who missed two games with a sore hip, then tried to return against the Hornets but played only about four minutes. The injury had put Matthews on the bench in street clothes for the first time in his four-year NBA career. He had played in 250 straight games, second-most among active players behind Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook…

Ty Lawson, Andre Iguodala and Corey Brewer had 13 points each for the Nuggets.

— Reported by Anne M. Peterson of the Associated Press

Clutch Lillard shot helps Blazers edge Hornets

Rookie Damian Lillard hit a 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds left and the Portland Trail Blazers handed New Orleans its sixth straight loss with a 95-94 victory over the Hornets on Sunday night.

After trailing by as many as 16, Austin Rivers hit a 3-pointer for the Hornets to tie it at 92 with 50.9 seconds left. The Blazers then absorbed a blow when LaMarcus Aldridge suddenly came up limping and headed to the locker room with what appeared to be a left ankle injury, but Lillard came through to give Portland the win.

The winning shot appeared to come at the buzzer but a review put the fraction back on the clock. Lance Thomas made a layup for the Hornets as time ran out for the final margin.

J.J. Hickson had a season-high 24 points and added 16 rebounds for the Blazers, who have won three straight. Hickson has five straight double-doubles and 13 overall this season.

Ryan Anderson had 26 points, including seven 3-pointers, for New Orleans.

Aldridge, whose condition was not immediately available, finished with 20 points before leaving the game and Lillard had 16.

— Reported by Anne M. Peterson of the Associated Press