Recap: Portland vs. New Orleans
Sports Network | November 28, 2008
Portland, OR (Sports Network) - Brandon Roy logged a terrific all-around effort with 25 points, 10 assists and six rebounds to carry Portland to a 101-86 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 17 points and grabbed seven boards for the Trail Blazers, who finished off a perfect three-game homestand. Steve Blake and Nicolas Batum had 14 and 12 points, respectively, in the victory.
Chris Paul registered 16 points, six assists and six rebounds as the Hornets lost for the first time in five games. Peja Stojakovic posted team-high 21 points in defeat.
Trailing 69-65 with less than four minutes to go in the third, the Blazers went on a game-changing 17-0 run that spanned into the fourth to pull away. New Orleans missed seven consecutive field goals to end the third and trailed 77-69 after the period.
"I think we turned it around in the third quarter because they had a lot of open looks they didn't knock down, but we made our shots," Portland head coach Nate McMillan said. "Our defense was sound most of the night."
Portland hit all eight free throw attempts during the stretch and Rudy Fernandez's three-pointer brought the crowd to its feet, capping the spurt with the Blazers leading 82-69 with 10 minutes left in the game.
Stojakovic's jumper made it a 93-82 game with 3 1/2 minutes remaining, but Aldridge hit a long jumper and Roy sunk two free throws to keep the visitors at bay.
Portland's inside-outside game helped give the club a 31-26 lead after the opening period.
James Posey's three-pointer followed by a Paul layup gave the Hornets their first lead of the game with less than a minute to go in the second, but Batum sunk a three-ball to put the Blazers ahead 50-48 at the break.
"I was amazed to be honest with you that we were in the game even that close because we didn't come out with the energy and effort that we needed to come out with against this team," New Orleans head coach Byron Scott said. "They were really aggressive from the outset. They played really hard."
The Blazers are 7-0 at home this season...The home team has won nine straight and 12 of the last 13 contests in the series...Greg Oden only scored one point but grabbed eight rebounds for Portland...Posey and Fernandez each had 10 points off the bench for their respective teams.
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