Trail Blazers vs Mavericks Tuesday, 01/04/11 AT 05:30PM

Portland kicks off new calendar year with a bang

01/02/11

Written by: Grant Lucas / avg. rating: 5.0

The phrase "ring in the new year" is thrown around at this point in the season, but the Portland Trail Blazers took it to another level on Sunday night.

During what became the Rose Garden's 130th consecutive sellout, the Trail Blazers (18-16) stormed into the year of the rabbit with a dominating 100-85 victory against the Houston Rockets (16-17), as six Portland players finished with double-digit scoring.

"I thought we did a good job of executing the game plan," Head Coach Nate McMillan said. "Defensively, nice job of being physical with Houston and disrupting their cuts. Offensively, great ball movement tonight, getting the ball from side to side. Twenty-nine assists - that is what you want to see as far as execution."

LaMarcus Aldridge led the pack with his 14th double-double of the season, registering a game-high 25 points to go along with 11 boards.

"Chemistry has gotten better," Aldridge said. "I think guys are really figuring out their roles. I think now guys are making shots, guys are looking for shots and we're being more consistent offensively and defensively."

Nicolas Batum posted 21 points, while Wesley Matthews added 14 and Patty Mills recorded career highs of 14 points and five steals.

"I thought [Mills] was good," McMillan said. "The first half, he was knocking down shots and then defensively, I thought he did a really good job of making [Aaron Brooks] stop, not allowing him to get going."

Mills said it felt good to simply get out and play, adding that the second unit's style of play - up-tempo and loose - makes it fun to be a part of.

"The way Houston played left us open on the three-point line," he said. "The last couple of games, especially coming off pick-and-rolls, I'm just trying to be creative and keeping the defense honest."

Portland used an overpowering third quarter to widen the margin to as much as 19 points while also holding the Rockets to just 14 points on 7-22 shooting from the field.

Aldridge matched that mark with 14 of his own and Batum chipped in with seven in the period to help the Trail Blazers pull away.

Shooting percentages may have been nearly identical, but the Trail Blazers outmuscled the opposition in other areas, including a 46-28 advantage in points in the paint and a 21-11 edge in second-chance points.

"Teamwise, we have to try to get guys in foul trouble, try to get into the penalty early," Aldridge said. "It worked out for us tonight."

Kevin Martin was the high-point man for the Rockets with 15, while Courtney Lee put up 12 points off the bench, but a cold-shooting third quarter and an up-tempo Trail Blazer offense proved fatal, as Houston could not recover from a double-digit deficit.

The Rockets held an early four-point lead, but the gap was quickly diminished. Portland tied the game up at 14 after Marcus Camby dribbled down the court and through the lane, eventually hitting Aldridge for an easy dunk. Camby finished the night with 13 boards to go along with eight assists - the most he's had as a Trail Blazer.

Portland capped off a 10-2 run to grab a 20-16 edge after a Camby tip-in that ensued three-straight offensive boards down low. The Rockets battled back to within two, however, following a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Brooks.

Lee evened the score at 27 early in the second quarter, but Portland ran off seven-straight points that soon became a 15-4 run, polished off by a reverse lay-up by Rudy Fernandez after receiving a feed from Aldridge.

Once again, Houston fought back with a streak of its own, reaching to within three points thanks to an and-one play by Martin. Driving on Matthews, Martin drew a foul, but lost the ball into the air. Mid-flight, Martin regained control and flipped it in. The free throw made it 47-44.

Mills paced the Portland attack with 12 first-half points, nine of which came in the second period, while Aldridge and Matthews headed into the locker room with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Martin and Chase Budinger kept the Rockets alive with 10 points apiece.

With 4:25 remaining in the third, the Trail Blazers extended their advantage to 11 when Aldridge and Matthews threw down back-to-back dunks. Soon after, Batum laid in a transition bucket, which was followed by an alley-oop connection from Fernandez to Aldridge, giving Portland its largest lead at that point at 75-58.

Aldridge's 14 points in the period gave him 25 for the night, as the Trail Blazers began the final quarter with a 17-point advantage.

Mills' career mark occurred with less than seven minutes remaining in the game when a running floater found the bottom of the cup to extend Portland's lead to 23 points.

With help from Mills, the Trail Blazers tied a season high with 12 thefts, while also forcing 15 Houston turnovers that resulted in 22 Portland points.

"It's not one thing. I think both ends of the floor - you've got to defend and you've got to score," McMillan said. "Tonight, we defended a team that can put up points and we scored. We were pretty consistent, around 22 or 23 points each quarter and 29 assists so it's not one thing... Both ends of the floor, we were pretty sharp."

Aldridge said that the team's mindset hasn't diminished, and it's games like this that give the Trail Blazers an edge.

"I don't think we ever really lost that confidence," Aldridge said. "We just went through a tough stretch. We knew once we started working hard again and started playing defense our way, we could win games."

The Trail Blazers hit the highway for a three-game road trip starting with a matchup with the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 4.