Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Roy helps Blazers win 6th in row, 98-92 over Wiz
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Brandon Roy took over down the stretch Wednesday night, scoring 12 of his 22 points in the final 8 minutes to help Portland beat the Washington Wizards 98-92 and extend the Trail Blazers' winning streak to six games.
The well-balanced Blazers put five players in double-figures: Roy, Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Fernandez and Steve Blake. Oden, the rookie center who missed all of last season, finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double in the past 12 games.
Antawn Jamison scored 22 points and Caron Butler added 16 for the Wizards, who fell to an Eastern Conference-worst 3-13. Washington was coming off a 20-point victory at the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday night, but still is seeking its first winning streak of the season.
Jamison's basket with 52 seconds left pulled the hosts within 92-90, and Roy responded, blowing past defender DeShawn Stevenson at the top of the key and laying the ball in for a four-point lead with 35 seconds on the clock.
Darius Songaila's 16-foot jumper got Washington back within two points, but he fouled Steve Blake at the other end, and the former Wizards guard made both foul shots to make it 96-92. Songaila then missed a jumper, Blake rebounded and was fouled, and the fans headed for the exits.
Butler, the two-time All-Star who leads Washington in scoring, started despite bumping knees with a Nets player Tuesday.
"He's fine," Wizards interim coach Ed Tapscott said before tipoff. "Banged and bruised, but not too bad."
Perhaps, but Butler didn't score at all against Portland until the final minute of the first half, hitting a 21-foot jumper with 47 seconds left to pull Washington within 45-43 at the break.
He opened the second half with a 20-footer to tie it at 45, part of a personal 12-point third quarter that kept the Wizards close. Still, the visitors took a 77-72 lead into the final period thanks in part to Fernandez's three-point play with 1.8 seconds to go.
Washington began the fourth quarter with a 9-0 spurt capped by Nick Young's 3-pointer that put the Wizards ahead 81-79. Portland shot 0-for-6 in that stretch, not scoring a point in that quarter until nearly 4 1/2 minutes had elapsed.
But that's when Roy really began to assert himself, scoring seven points in a 9-2 run by the Blazers as they took an 86-83 lead.
Roy was honored Monday as Western Conference Player of the Week for his work from Nov. 24-30, when he averaged 20 points, 5.3 rebounds and six assists while shooting 51 percent on field-goal attempts.
He pretty much kept up that pace across the board Wednesday, shooting 9-for-19 and adding eight rebounds and four assists to his stats line.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
