Recap: Portland vs. Sacramento
Sports Network | November 25, 2008
Portland, OR (Sports Network) - Brandon Roy scored a season-high and game-best 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting, and Portland held its breath as John Salmons' left leaning scoop shot in the final seconds hit the back rim, as the Trail Blazers held on for a 91-90 victory over Sacramento.
Steve Blake scored 12 points, Travis Outlaw added 11 and Joel Przybilla provided the inside girth with 10 points and 12 rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge also netted 10 points with 10 boards, making up for Greg Oden's subpar three- point, six-rebound effort.
"We dodged a bullet," said Blazers coach Nate McMillan. "You need some of those during the course of the season, but it's also a learning experience. It's about bringing it every night. We should be able to get after guys. Tonight, we weren't the aggressor, but we made some breaks, enough to win the game."
The Trail Blazers, who like home cooking, improved to 5-0 at the Rose Garden this season, compared to 4-6 away from home.
Salmons led the Kings with 20 points, Brad Miller added 18 points and six boards and Beno Udrih donated 17 points and eight assists for the Kings, who dropped to 2-7 away from home this season.
Four points in a row from Roy and an Aldridge jumper put the Blazers in front, 87-84, with 3:05 on the clock. Salmons and Roy then exchanged a pair of free throws, and Salmons' lay-in with 1:59 to play put the score at 89-88 in favor of the hosts.
Blake connected on two free throws with 40 ticks to play, and Salmons hit two as well just nine seconds later. Outlaw forced a running bank shot that rimmed out in the lane, allowing the Kings to take possession and call timeout with 11.8 seconds remaining.
The ball went to Salmons, who fought into the lane, tried an up-and-under move to no avail, then extended his stride across the foul line to near the left block, where he attempted a difficult opposite-handed running shot that hit hard off the back rim as time expired.
"They contested the left hand, they collapsed on me, and I just tried to get the best shot I could get," said Salmons. "It was iso (isolated). I tried to spin back, they collapsed, pump fake, tried to go to the left for a layup. You always got to be happy the way you fight back, if you fight back...it's just, we've been doing that all year, we just got to start finishing games."
Portland grabbed a 27-21 lead after one period then held on for a 48-44 lead at the half. The four-point lead was maintained at 75-71 after 36 minutes of action.
The Kings made 46.5 percent of their shots compared to just 40.5 for the Blazers; however, Portland collected 18 offensive rebounds and dominated on the glass, 48-32...Sacramento also committed 22 turnovers -- six by Udrih and five by Salmons, each in extended minutes...Portland routed Sacramento, 117-96, last Friday to snap a three-game skid in the series...Attendance 20,467.
