|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
Tickets at Ticket Master
Damon Stoudamire is doing everything possible to keep the Trail Blazers' playoff hopes alive while their overhauled roster meshes.
In a tough win over Golden State, Stoudamire did his job by making Zach Randolph into a hero.
Randolph scored 19 points and made a layup on Stoudamire's exceptional bounce pass with 1.8 seconds left in Portland's 94-93 victory over the Warriors on Friday night.
Jason Richardson scored 22 points and hit a go-ahead jumper with 29.7 seconds left for the Warriors, who trailed for most of the game before turning it into a thriller in the final minutes.
But after Shareef Abdur-Rahim's shot was blocked and Derek Anderson's miss was rebounded by Ruben Patterson, Stoudamire drove the lane, drew the defense -- and dropped a pass to Randolph, who made a layup in traffic.
``It's not that
he's been playing bad, but this could be big for his confidence,'' Stoudamire
said of Randolph, who has struggled offensively in recent weeks. ``You just
want to put somebody in a position to make a difference, and it was great for
him to get that layup.''
The Blazers have shipped out Bonzi Wells, Rasheed Wallace, Wesley Person, Jeff
McInnis and Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje over the past 2 1/2 months. The trades certainly
will help change the Blazers' image, but they might cost Portland its chance
at a 22nd straight trip to the playoffs.
Stoudamire is one of the few veterans remaining from last season's team. Despite a strong challenge from Golden State's Speedy Claxton, Stoudamire was exceptional against the Warriors -- finishing with 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists while hitting three 3-pointers.
``That was just a great pass, that's it,'' Randolph said of his game-winner. ``I just put it down. Damon did it.''
With Stoudamire leading the way, there are numerous signs the Blazers are maturing: They improved to 4-4 on the road since their 2-16 start away from Portland. The Blazers grabbed eight offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter against the Warriors, including four in the final two minutes.
``It's just patience and perseverance,'' Stoudamire said. ``Sometimes you're going to have struggles, but you can't let them last too long. You've got to play through them.''
Following Randolph's basket and a timeout, the Warriors ran a give-and-go play from Clifford Robinson to Nick Van Exel, but Robinson didn't get off his shot until well after the buzzer. It was Golden State's second straight one-point loss -- the first such back-to-back defeats since the 1988-89 season.
``I don't know if I ever remember a game where we had eight turnovers and still lost,'' Warriors coach Eric Musselman said. ``(Portland's) 19 offensive rebounds is the game. We played hard, worked hard, but didn't get enough defensive rebounds.''
AP - Feb 21, 12:04 am EST
More Photos
Van Exel scored 20 points for Golden State, hitting four 3-pointers, while Claxton
had 18 points and six rebounds.
``I don't think anything went wrong, except at the end when we had three small guys who couldn't get a rebound,'' Richardson said of the Warriors' three-guard lineup.
Portland maintained a small lead for most of the fourth quarter, but the Warriors went ahead 89-88 on Van Exel's steal and layup off an inbounds pass with less than four minutes left.
``Every time we come here, we play some crazy games,'' said Portland coach Maurice Cheeks, no doubt remembering the brawl that nearly stretched into the stands last season. ``It always goes down to the wire, where someone has to hit a miraculous shot or grab a miraculous rebound to win.''
The Warriors played their first game since deciding not to trade Erick Dampier or Van Exel at the deadline. Golden State still hopes to retain Dampier, who can opt out of his contract this summer -- and general managerGarry St. Jean didn't think the Warriors could get anything better in return.
Notes
The Warriors played the first of back-to-back home games -- a rarity on NBA
schedules. Golden State hosts Seattle on Saturday night. ... Late in the second
quarter, Abdur-Rahim made his sixth 3-pointer of the season -- his firstwith
the Blazers.