Trail Blazers vs Nets Wednesday, 11/25/09 AT 07:00PM

Trail Blazers depth keeps New Jersey winless

11/25/09

Written by: Max Mandel

Although the New Jersey Nets (0-15) entered the game still searching for their first victory this season, the Portland Trail Blazers (12-5) knew that the Nets weren't going to just hand them a victory. With the Nets keeping the game close into the 4th quarter, the Trail Blazers used some great shooting from beyond the arc to pull out the 93-83 victory. With their 12-5 start, this team now has the best 17-game start to a season since the 1999-2000 season. With this win, the Trail Blazers have now won their last four games against New Jersey.

While the Trail Blazers have seen some terrific individual performances this season, tonight proved to be a true team effort. Portland had six guys score in double figures, with Greg Oden scoring a team-high 18 points. Oden continues to play with great confidence and aggressiveness on the offensive end. He is also doing a terrific job of using his size to create great position in the post, and routinely finishes at the rim with powerful dunks. Despite the strong individual performance, Oden couldn't help but be impressed by how strong of a team effort this win required.

"It feels really good," Oden said of six guys scoring in double figures. "Everybody on the team just clicked tonight. Everybody played well and we definitely needed that with a team that's coming with a lot of energy."

The bench of the Trail Blazers is quickly becoming one of the best in the league. Andre Miller did a great job of pushing the tempo and also attacking the rim, scoring 10 points and dishing out six assists. When the game got close in the final minutes, Miller hit four straight free throws to close out the victory. Rudy Fernandez continues to deliver when the game is on the line. Fernandez shot 4-5 from beyond the arc, with three of those coming in the final quarter. What makes his shooting even more impressive is the fact that he continues to hit big shots with the shot clock expiring and with the defender in nearly perfect position. As Brandon Roy pointed out after the game, seeing Fernandez hit those shots can be demoralizing for a defense.

"They were timely three pointers. He makes them when we really need them, because when that clock is running down and they think they have a stop, it's kind of a dagger because you played really good defense for 23 seconds. Those were really big threes for us tonight."

In the loss, the Nets received a tremendous performance from Brook Lopez. The second year center scored a career-high 32 points and pulled down 14 boards. Chris Douglas-Roberts put together a nice performance on the offensive end, scoring 18 points on 8-17 shooting from the field.

The Trail Blazers return to action on Friday night, when they host the Memphis Grizzlies. Opening tip is scheduled for 7:00 PST at the Rose Garden.
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