Trail Blazers vs Timberwolves Wednesday, 11/11/09 AT 05:00PM

Dominant third quarter helps extend winning streak

11/12/09

Written by: Max Mandel  / avg. rating: 5.0



After a lethargic start to the season, the Portland Trail Blazers (6-3) appear to have hit their form in very impressive fashion. In a strikingly similar result to the match up this past Sunday, the Trail Blazers were able to use a huge third quarter to surge to a 107-84 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves (1-8). The 6-3 start marks the best start to a season for the Trail Blazers since the 1999-2000 team started the season 8-1.

Using his terrific second half against Memphis as a springboard, Greg Oden came out and played his best game of the season. Oden played with excellent confidence throughout the game, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, while also committing zero fouls. When Oden is able to stay on the court and avoid foul trouble, he has shown that he can be one of the most dominant forces in this league.

One of the catalysts for the recent surge that this team has seen is Andre Miller. Miller is clearly becoming more comfortable with his role in the offense, as he played perhaps his best game as a member of the Trail Blazers. Miller scored 9 points on 4-7 shooting, and exhibited his terrific ability to find the open scorer by dishing out 10 assists. Brandon Roy continues to get more comfortable playing with Miller in the back court, and he scored 14 points and had 5 assists in the victory.

Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan again received a great performance from his bench. After struggling with his shot to start the season, Rudy Fernandez seems close to returning to his rookie season form. Fernandez torched the Timberwolves, hitting all four of this three point attempts, and scoring 15 points. Martell Webster also provided a nice spark in a reserve role, scoring 16 points and grabbing 3 boards in 25 minutes of action. For the game, the Trail Blazers bench provided 50 points, which is five more points than the Timberwolves starters scored.

In the loss, Jonny Flynn and Al Jefferson continued their solid play. Flynn, who has now scored in double-figures in the first nine games of his career, scored 15 points and brought down six boards. While still rounding into game shape, Jefferson scored 14 points and started to show some of the nice touch around the rim that has made him such a dominant scorer in the past.

Portland has now won the last ten meetings between these two teams. The Trail Blazers have won each of the two match ups this year by 23 points. After a day off tomorrow, the team will continue this five game road trip with a visit to New Orleans. Opening tip for the game against the Hornets is scheduled for 5:00 PST.
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