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Trail Blazers haunted in fourth quarter at New Jersey

11/29/10

  1. Written by: ShalamarClark  / avg. rating: 4.3



    It’s been a goal for the Portland Trail Blazers to finish out games strong, but fourth quarters haven’t been too friendly as of late.

    Holding a 78-73 lead going into the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers (8-8) were outscored 25-18 in the period and New Jersey (6-11) finished 98-96 Sunday at the Prudential Center

    The Nets snapped their five-game loosing streak to Portland with Devin Harris' 25 points and eight assists and Anthony Morrow's 16 points and four assists.    

    Portland went cold at the start of the fourth, scoring just two points in the first four minutes.

    Morrow hits a corner three to tie the game 87-87 with 4:24 on the clock. 

    Both teams struggled to find a shot that would fall for nearly three minutes until Kris Humphries broke the drought to put New Jersey up 89-87 with 1:43 left to play. 

    Humphries had 10 points and eight rebounds.

    “Once we built the lead we kind of got relaxed and comfortable,” said Wesley Matthews. “They picked the tempo up and we slowed down and started ball-watching.”

    Matthews led Portland’s scoring efforts with 25 points after draining 5-6 threes. Brandon Roy tallied 21 points and four assists, while LaMarcus Aldridge totaled 20 points and made eight of 10 free throws.

    Portland found itself in foul trouble early as Marcus Camby and Aldridge sat on to the bench with two fouls a piece.

    The Trail Blazers ended the night shooting 42 percent from the floor, but struggled from the opening tip. Despite the miscues, Portland found a way to string together two 10-0 runs that came at the end of the first and second quarters.

    Portland’s defense also picked eight steals and forced 16 New Jersey turnovers with 11 coming by halftime.

    Roy scored 15 points, Aldridge had 12 points and Matthews came off the bench and registered 10 points in the first half to give Portland a 52-44 advantage.

    In the third quarter, Wesley started for Nicolas Batum, who had a quiet night of two points on three attempts.

    Camby picked up his fourth foul on what looked to be a charge and went back to the sidelines giving the rookie Luke Babbitt some playing time. Aldridge would soon follow, picking up his fourth foul as well. 

    Andre Miller lifted Portland, scoring eight points in the third that fought off an 8-0 run from the Nets.

    “We have to execute down the stretch,” said Trail Blazer Head Coach Nate McMillan. “We did some good things throughout the game. It came down to the fourth quarter and having to make plays, make shots and we didn’t do that.”

    Miller finished with 13 points including five assists and made 5-5 from the free-throw line. Camby had six points and 10 rebounds.

    The Trail Blazers have now fallen three consecutive games and face three more road challenges in the upcoming week. Portland will need to bounce back at Philadelphia as it takes on the Sixers on Tuesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 PM.

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