Blazers nip feisty TWolves

The Portland Trailblazers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves for the eighth straight time at the Rose Garden Arena on Saturday night, but it wasn’t easy.  Despite owning the NBA’s third worst record and having lost nine straight and 17 of 19, Minnesota stayed close to the Blazers throughout before Portland eventually prevailed 95-93.  The Twolves had a shot to win the game at the end, but Randy Foye’s open three point chance went awry to preserve the victory for the home team.

Portland won their 11^th straight game at home led by Brandon Roy, who scored 31 points and added six assists.  LaMarcus Aldridge posted a ‘double/double’ with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Travis Outlaw added 14 points and 9 boards off the bench.  Ryan Gomes led the Twolves with 28 points, with Randy Foye adding 23.  Former Blazer Sebastian Telfair added 18 points and 7 assists in a losing cause.

After the game, Brandon Roy noted that his team may have ‘overlooked’ the Timberwolves with a game against the Los Angeles Lakers on deck for Monday night:

"I think we kind of overlooked them a little bit, and guys were getting ready for the Lakers”

Portland coach Nate McMillan says he hopes the team learned from the experience of having to scramble to beat a lower division team:

"The message [to the Blazers] is that when you are playing teams below .500, they're not the top teams, but you've got to come with focus and a sense of urgency.”

In the visitors’ locker room, Minnesota head coach Kevin McHale commended his team’s play and sounded a positive note despite their recent struggles:

"We have some stuff to keep working on, but I thought the guys worked hard. That's all we keep asking: to work hard every night."

The Blazers play their next three games in the ‘Rose City’, where they’re 26-5 on the year.  The Western Conference leading Lakers come to town on Monday night, followed by Dallas on Wednesday and New Jersey on Friday.  Minnesota also gets their next three games at home—though that’s not much consolation for a team with a better record on the road (10-21) than in their own building (8-23).  They’ll play Washington on Monday, Memphis on Wednesday and the New York Knicks on Friday.