Portland Trail Blazers Blog – Page 92 – NBA Blog

Rockets notes after beating Blazers

Monday night the Houston Rockets, playing at home, defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 95-83.

With a 95-83 win tonight, the Rockets have won 11 of their last 12 games, including an active run of four consecutive victories at Toyota Center (1/29/08-2/11/08) to set the team’s longest winning streak at home this season. Houston also captured its seventh victory in a row, which stands as the team’s longest winning streak since the 2004-05 Rockets captured their final seven games of that season (4/7/05-4/20/05).

Houston has won the last three games by a double-digit margin: 92-77 (+15) vs. Cleveland (2/7/08), 108-89 (+19) vs. Atlanta (2/9/08) and 95-83 (+12) tonight. It marks the first time since March 2007 for the Rockets to grab three consecutive victories by 10 or more points (3/16/07-3/20/07).

The Rockets have held the Trail Blazers to less than 20 points in seven of 12 quarters played this season, including 19 points in both the second and third quarters of tonight’s games. Overall, Houston has limited Portland to 80.7 points per game in 2007-08. The Rockets have also won five of the last six meetings between these teams.

The Rockets had all five starters in double-digit scoring for the first time this season. Overall, Houston has had five players reach double-figure scoring totals in five of its last six games.

Yao Ming led the Rockets with 25 points (11-13 FT) to go along with his seven rebounds. Yao is averaging 28.2 points (141 TP) and 12.8 rebounds (64 TR) over the last five outings he has played at Toyota Center.

Rafer Alston, who finished with 17 points and seven assists, has scored a combined 25 points (8.3 ppg) on 9-of-13 (.692) shooting in the third quarter of the last three games, including 5-of-6 from 3-point range.

Luis Scola has averaged 11.8 points on 41-of-70 (.586) shooting since entering the starting lineup vs. Utah (1/27/08). Scola has helped the Rockets to a 7-1 (.875) record over his first eight NBA starts.

LaMarcus Aldridge posted 22 points on 10-of-26 shooting, setting a career high in field goal attempts (prev. high: 23 on 12/3/07 at Memphis). Aldridge has now scored over 20 points in each of his last three games after hitting the 20-point mark just twice in his previous 17 outings.

Brandon Roy had 15 points, five rebounds and a game-high eight assists in his return outing for Portland. Roy had missed the last two consecutive games (family matters).

James Jones out 3-5 more weeks

Trail Blazers forward James Jones will be out of action an additional 3-5 weeks to rest his sore left knee, Portland general manager Kevin Pritchard announced today.

“James ability to knock down the three-point shot has proven to be one of the keys to our success here in the early going,” said Pritchard. “Originally, we felt holding him out through the All-Star break would be enough, but after consulting with our medical staff we feel an additional few weeks of rest is the best course of action.”

Prior to being sidelined on February 4, Jones averaged 9.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 23.2 minutes in 34 games for Portland this season. Jones is currently second in the NBA in three-point shooting percentage at .483.

Rockets – Blazers team 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, who was a four-year letterman in basketball at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, earned his law degree from the University of Oregon in 2001.

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.

Guard Steve Francis, who returned to the Rockets after having his contract bought out by Portland, was part of a multi-player deal that sent Zach Randolph from the Trail Blazers to the Knicks on June 28, 2007.

In nearly six seasons with Portland, Rockets guard/forward Bonzi Wells posted averages of 13.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 310 games with the Trail Blazers.

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.

Brandon Roy out tonight and Saturday

Brandon Roy did not travel with the Trail Blazers to Detroit and will miss tonight’s game against the Pistons due to a death in the family. Because of the timing of the memorial service, Roy will also miss Saturday’s game with the Indiana Pacers. The Trail Blazers guard is expected to rejoin the team for Monday’s game versus the Houston Rockets.

Roy for the season is averaging 19.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game, on 46.1% shooting from the field. The only thing he needs to improve upon offensively is his three-point shooting.

Trail Blazers recall Josh McRoberts from D-League

The Portland Trail Blazers recalled forward Josh McRoberts from the NBA Development League’s Idaho Stampede, it was announced today by Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard.

“It was a really good experience,” said McRoberts. “It was the first time that I’d played in a game with extended minutes in a long time, so it was good to get out there and get some game action.”

McRoberts, who was assigned to the Stampede on Jan. 9, averaged 7.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 26.5 minutes in eight games with the Trail Blazers’ D-League affiliate.

Prior to joining the Stampede, McRoberts posted averages of 1.3 points, 0.7 rebounds and 2.3 minutes in three games with the Trail Blazers this season after being selected by Portland with the 37th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

The Duke University product is the fifth player in Trail Blazers history to be assigned to the D-League.

Can’t stop the King: LeBron rises when it counts against the Blazers

NBA.com reports: They knew what was coming, but weren’t even close to stopping it. With the Cavs down by one and 4.9 ticks left, Cleveland sent its inbounds pass to LeBron James, who demonstrated why he is truly the king of the clutch. James blasted past the defending Brandon Roy, seeped through LaMarcus Aldridge and went around the extended arms of Travis Outlaw to drain a game-winning last-second layup to give the Cavs a thrilling road triumph over the Blazers. It was the finishing touch to a 17-point fourth quarter for the King, who brought the Cavs back from an 11-point final-period deficit. “We stepped up too late,” Roy said of Portland’s defense on LeBron’s final drive. “Once he got to into the paint we didn’t want to foul him so a couple of guys shied away. We’ve got to force him into a jump shot in that situation.” Cleveland has now won five straight games on the road, its longest streak since April 1998.

Przybilla talks with InsideHoops

After Orlando Magic defended home court Saturday night by beating Portland 101-94, InsideHoops.com had a chance to catch up with Joel Przybilla, who is doing more than just holding down the center position until Greg Oden returns next season. The 7-1, 255-pound Przybilla is averaging 7.3 rebounds a game in just 21 minutes per contest for the Blazers who have won 20 of their last 24 games.

The interview is here.

Blazers assign Josh McRoberts to D-League

The Portland Trail Blazers assigned rookie forward Josh McRoberts to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League, it was announced Wednesday by Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard.

“We look forward to seeing Josh gain more experience through increased floor time with the Stampede,” said Pritchard. “Giving him the chance to log some minutes will help Josh with his professional development this season.”

McRoberts, 20, is averaging 1.3 points, 0.7 rebounds and 2.3 minutes in three games with the Trail Blazers this season after being selected by Portland with the 37th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

The Duke University product becomes the 23rd NBA player assigned to the D-League this season, and the fifth in Trail Blazers history.

This is the first season the Trail Blazers are affiliated with the Boise-based Stampede.

Blazers have heart, baby

NBA.com reports: They might not be the flashiest or most talented team in the league, but is there any team playing with more heart than the Portland Blazers right now? Portland won 10 at home during its 13-game winning streak and lost in Utah on Monday, leaving many to believe that its recent hot streak was a result of easy home scheduling. But after rallying from 14 down in the second half and outlasting the Bulls in a 115-109 double-overtime road decision on the second day of a back-to-back Thursday, you can’t help but think Brandon Roy and Co. are for real. Roy, who is not even among the top 10 vote-getters for Western Conference guards, tallied 25 points and 11 assists, while Travis Outlaw scored 21, including a big three-point play down the stretch.

Coaches of Month: Saunders, McMillan

InsideHoops.com NewsWire: The Detroit Pistons’ Flip Saunders and the Portland Trail Blazers’ Nate McMillan today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in December.

Saunders guided the Pistons to a 15-2 (.882) record last month as Detroit established a franchise mark for wins in December. Holding eight of their last 10 December opponents to 90 points or less, the Pistons are in the midst of a nine-game winning streak. At 24-7, Detroit enjoys a 9.5-game lead in the Central Division. The Pistons handed the Celtics their first home loss of the season on Dec. 19 when Detroit posted an 87-85 victory in Boston.

McMillan led the Trail Blazers to a 13-2 (.867) record in December, which included 13 straight wins from Dec. 3 through Dec. 30. The 13-game winning streak is the second-longest in Trail Blazers history and tops in the NBA this season. At 18-13, Portland is second in the Northwest Division, trailing Denver by one-half game. The Trail Blazers defeated the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center on Dec. 16, their first win in Denver since Feb. 26, 2003.

Other nominees for the Coach of the Month were Atlanta’s Mike Woodson, Boston’s Doc Rivers, Dallas’ Avery Johnson, Golden State’s Don Nelson, New Orleans’ Byron Scott and Philadelphia’s Maurice Cheeks.