With the Golden State Warriors (4-8) only having eight guys dressed for the game tonight, it seemed that this was the perfect opportunity for the Portland Trail Blazers (9-5) to end their eight game losing streak in the Bay Area. However, the Trail Blazers could find no answer for the back court of Monta Ellis and Anthony Morrow, as the Warriors used a huge second half performance to pull out the 108-94 win. With this win, the Warriors have now won the last nine meetings between these two teams in the Bay Area, and three of the last four overall in the series.
Because of injuries to Ronny Turiaf and Andris Biedrins, Greg Oden used his size to completely dominate the paint throughout the game. Oden repeatedly threw down numerous huge dunks on the Warriors defense, and scored 16 points on the night. Unfortunately, foul trouble limited Oden in the second half, and the Trail Blazers offense seemed to struggle when Oden went to the bench.
With Travis Outlaw and Nicolas Batum out for an indefinite amount of time, Rudy Fernandez continues to provide a tremendous spark off the bench. After Andre Miller had to sit because of early foul trouble, Fernandez came off the bench and provided a huge lift for the team. Playing with the energy and versatility that he is known for, Fernandez scored a team-high 19 points, while also dishing out five assists and grabbing four rebounds. While Fernandez hit 3-8 from behind the arc, the rest of the team struggled shooting from deep, and the Trail Blazers only shot 4-19 from behind the three point line as a team.
When Portland looks back on this game, the sloppy performance on the offensive end will certainly stand out. Although they were able to dish out 18 assists as a team, the 23 turnovers will certainly be a huge point of contention for Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan.
The inability to contain quick and athletic guards continues to haunt the Trail Blazers. Portland could find no answer for the blazingly quick Monta Ellis, who scored a game-high 34 points, while playing all 48 minutes. Ellis also did a terrific job of finding his open teammates on the perimeter, dishing out eight assists on the night. Anthony Morrow made the most of his open looks on the perimeter, scoring 23 points, and hitting 4-6 from behind the arc. With only eight guys in the rotation, Anthony Randolph took advantage of the extra playing time. Randolph came off the bench and recorded a double-double, with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Portland will not have much time to dwell on this performance, since they return to the court on Saturday night. The Trail Blazers will host the Timberwolves for the second time in the past two weeks, with opening tip scheduled for 7:00 PST at the Rose Garden.