The AP reports: After winning their first playoff game in six years, the Portland Trail Blazers couldn’t help but be a little amazed with their victory over the Houston Rockets. “We kind of laughed about it, `Man, it’s hard winning games in the playoffs. It takes a lot of work,”’ said Brandon Roy, who had 42 points in Portland’s 107-103 victory Tuesday night. The playoff series, now even at a game apiece, moves to Houston for Game 3 on Friday. Aaron Brooks led a late charge and finished with 23 points for Houston, which has not made it out of the first round since 1997. Von Wafer came off the bench to add 21. LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and 12 rebounds for Trail Blazers, who had never dropped the first two games of a playoff series at home and played one of their most physical games of the season… Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo injured his left leg in the first quarter and left the court on a stretcher.
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Rockets-Blazers team connections
Connections: Rick Adelman still ranks as the second winningest coach in Trail Blazers history behind Jack Ramsay, racking up a record of 291-154 (.654) in the regular season and a 36-33 (.522) mark in the postseason … Adelman twice coached the Trail Blazers into the NBA Finals, qualifying Portland for the playoffs in all six of his seasons … Elston Turner also served as an assistant coach with Portland … T.R. Dunn was drafted by Portland with the 41st overall pick of the 1977 NBA Draft, spending his first three NBA campaigns with the Trail Blazers … R.J. Adelman was a four-year letterman in basketball at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon … Pat Zipfel joined Houston after serving three seasons as an advance scout with Portland … Rockets guard Aaron Brooks was an All-Pac-10 standout at the University of Oregon … in the 2008 NBA Draft, Houston traded the draft rights to Nicolas Batum (25th overall pick) to Portland for the draft rights to Darrell Arthur (27th overall pick) and Joey Dorsey (33rd overall pick) … Rockets guard Von Wafer played eight games with the Trail Blazers in 2007-08 … Houston guard/forward James White was originally selected by Portland in the second round (31st overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft before having his rights traded to Indiana … Portland center Joel Przybilla was selected by Houston in the first round (9th overall) of the 2000 NBA Draft before Milwaukee acquired his draft rights.
Mike Brown named Coach of Year
Cleveland’s Mike Brown is the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2008-09 NBA Coach of the Year, the NBA announced today.
Brown totaled 355 points, including 55 first-place votes, from a panel of 122 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.
In his fourth season at the helm in Cleveland, Brown guided the Cavaliers to a franchise- and NBA-best 66-16 (.805) season, marking only the 12th time an NBA team has won at least 66 games. Cleveland started the season with a franchise-best 23-straight wins at Quicken Loans Arena and finished with the best home record in the league at 39-2. Cleveland is the sixth team in NBA history to record 39 home wins and the first to do so since the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls. The Cavaliers’ 21-game improvement over last year’s 45-37 record tied the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers for the second biggest improvement all-time among teams with at least 45 wins in the previous season.
Brown was named NBA Coach of the Month for December, February and March. At the All-Star break, Cleveland owned the highest winning percentage in the Eastern Conference (36-9, .800), earning Brown the spot as head coach for the East in Phoenix. It was Brown’s first appearance as an All-Star head coach and the second in franchise history (Lenny Wilkens, 1989).
Brown led the Cavaliers to at least 45 wins in each of his first three campaigns, marking only the second time Cleveland won that many games in three consecutive seasons (1991-92 to 1993-94). With a combined regular season record of 211-117 (.643) in four seasons, Brown has the highest winning percentage of any head coach in franchise history. In each of his first three seasons in Cleveland, Brown has led the Cavaliers to the playoffs, amassing a franchise-best 26-20 (.565) postseason record. In 2007, he led Cleveland to its first trip to The Finals.
Brown joined the Cavaliers after two seasons as associate head coach for the Indiana Pacers. Prior to that, Brown served as assistant coach for three seasons in San Antonio, helping guide the Spurs to the 2003 NBA championship. Brown began his coaching career with the Washington Wizards, where he spent two seasons as an assistant coach under Bernie Bickerstaff.
The Coach of the Year Award is named after legendary coach and Hall of Famer Red Auerbach who guided the Celtics to nine NBA Championships. In 1996, Auerbach was honored as one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History as the NBA celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Houston coach Rick Adelman finished second in the voting with 13 first-place votes and 151 total points.
Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy finished third with 13 first-place votes and 150 total points.
Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan finished fourth with 15 first-place votes and 127 total points.
Denver Nuggets coach George Karl finished fifth with 11 first-place votes and 117 total points.
The next five coaches to receive some votes were Jerry Sloan, Erik Spoelstra, Mike Woodson, Phil Jackson and Doc Rivers.
Fans predict first round playoff results
InsideHoops.com posted a poll two days ago asking fans to predict the results of the 2009 NBA playoffs first round.
In the East:
325 fans picked the Cavaliers to beat the Pistons. Just 29 picked Detroit.
321 fans picked the Magic to beat the 76ers. Just 20 picked Philadelphia.
258 fans picked the Celtics to beat the Bulls. 87 picked Chicago.
And in the East’s only fairly close result, 183 fans picked the Heat while 155 picked the Hawks.
As expected, other than the Lakers-Jazz series, the voting was pretty close in the West:
336 fans picked the Lakers to beat the Jazz. Just 17 picked Utah.
241 fans picked the Nuggets to beat the Hornets. 113 picked New Orleans.
224 fans picked the Spurs to beat the Mavericks. 122 picked Dallas.
198 fans picked the Trail Blazers to beat the Rockets. 152 picked Houston.
Yao has 24 points, Rockets beat Blazers 108-81
The AP reports: The 7-foot-6 Yao Ming scored nine of Houston’s first 11 points and finished with 24 in the Rockets’ 108-81 victory over the Trail Blazers on Saturday night. It was the opener of their first-round playoff series… Yao scored all of his points in the first half, and added nine rebounds. He hit all nine of his attempts from the field and all six of his free throws… Aaron Brooks added 27 points for the Rockets, who haven’t advanced out of the first round of the playoffs since 1997. Brandon Roy had 21 points for the Blazers in their first playoff appearance since the 2002-03 season. Portland embraced the young team this season, and some 10,000 fans showed up at a downtown rally earlier in the week in support of the team… Luis Scola finished with 19 points, and Artest had 17.
Outlaw has 21 in Blazers victory over Thunder
The AP reports: Travis Outlaw had 21 points as a last-minute starter and the Trail Blazers built a 35-point lead before defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder 113-83 on Monday night. Brandon Roy had 20 points in Portland’s fifth straight victory. Greg Oden had 16 points and nine rebounds. Kevin Durant, averaging 25.5 points a game, scored just 10 for the Thunder, who have lost six of their last seven games. Rookie Russell Westbrook had 15 points and seven assists.
Aldridge scores 21, Blazers beat Clippers 87-72
The AP reports: LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 points, Joel Przybilla added 10 points and 14 rebounds, and the Blazers beat the Clippers 87-72 on Saturday night to tie for third place in the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers needed a late rally to beat the lowly Clippers, who were up by two with 7:44 remaining. The win came a day after Portland beat the Lakers at home… Eric Gordon had 18 for the Clippers, who have lost seven of their last eight. Los Angeles, down most of the game, took its first lead since the first quarter when Gordon scored on a layup to make it 68-66.
Roy has 24, Blazers beat Lakers 106-98
The AP reports: Brandon Roy had 24 points and eight assists, and the Portland Trail Blazers held off the Los Angeles Lakers 106-98 on Friday night. Kobe Bryant scored 32 points for the Lakers, but missed a key 3-pointer, had a crucial turnover and was off on a jumper in the final minute. It was Portland’s eighth straight victory over the Lakers at the Rose Garden. The Lakers played without coach Phil Jackson, who didn’t travel with the team because of pain in his lower right leg, and fell 1 1/2 games behind Cleveland for the best record in the NBA and home-court advantage throughout the postseason… The Blazers held a narrow lead throughout most of the fourth quarter. Bryant pulled the Lakers into a 91-all tie with 5:15 to go, but Steve Blake answered with his own jumper for the Blazers.
Martell Webster out until next season
Portland Trail Blazers guard/forward Martell Webster will miss the remainder of the 2008-09 regular season and the 2009 NBA Playoffs, it was announced today by General Manager Kevin Pritchard.
Webster underwent surgery on Oct. 9 to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. After being sidelined nearly two months, Webster returned to the court on Dec. 7 for Portland’s game at Toronto, but re-aggravated the injury.
“This was not an easy decision to make knowing just how hard Martell has worked to get back on the court this season,” said Pritchard. “The X-rays show significant progress, but the bone has not completely healed. We feel strongly that an extended period of rest will ensure a full recovery and allow Martell to be ready for fall training camp.”
A fourth-year Trail Blazer, Webster initially suffered the injury in an Oct. 7 preseason game vs. Sacramento.
“Throughout the course of the rehab I worked my tail off to get back out there and to come up short is disappointing,” said Webster. “Now I just have to refocus my energy on getting better, getting stronger, and being ready for the start of next season.”
There are no changes planned to Webster’s physical activity level. He will continue to rehabilitate on the stationary bike and elliptical trainer.
Webster, 22, has career averages of 8.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists while averaging 37.2% (279-for-750) from 3-point range in 219 games (115 starts) with the Trail Blazers.
Blazers beat Spurs, gets boost in playoff race
The AP reports: Brandon Roy scored 26 points and Portland won in San Antonio for the first time since 2002 with a 95-83 victory, moving the Trail Blazers into a three-way tie with the Spurs and Houston for the third-best record in the West with just four games remaining… The slumping Spurs, who have lost four of six, blew a 19-point lead in the first half and surrendered the season series to Portland 3-1. Roger Mason had 18 points as the Spurs lost for the first time since learning this week that Manu Ginobili will miss the playoffs because of an ankle injury. Tim Duncan, bothered by aching knees since the All-Star break, scored four points in 24 minutes in his first back-to-back stint in nearly six weeks… LaMarcus Aldridge scored 20 points, and Joe Przybilla had 17 rebounds. It was the 50th win for Portland, a mark the Trail Blazers haven’t reached since 2002-03.