Starting Five:
LaMarcus Aldridge
Nicolas Batum
Marcus Camby
Andre Miller
Brandon Roy
Brandon Roy was the high scorer of the night with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in 31 minutes of play. Roy shot 6 - 16 from the field and 10 - 11 from the line. LaMarcus Aldridge took the second spot with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist in a mere 25 minutes of play. LMA got a whole lotta rest in this game, yay for big leads. The big news of this game is the resurgence, once again, of Rudy Fernandez. El Machetero had a great game tallying 16 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists shooting 5 - 12 from the field and a big 50% from beyond the arch. Rudy sure found his rhythm against the Pacers and helped lead this team to a good win, not to mention the Spaniard clocked in a good 30 minutes of play. Keep it up El Machetero!
Here's a look at the rest of the box score:
The Blazers played extremely well in this game. As soon as we took a big lead Portland was able to keep it, for the most part the closest Indy ever got within was 7, and come out with a nice big win. After a number of close games, over times and heart breakers it was really nice to see Portland come away with a good ol' fashion blow out. The stars alligned for Rudy tonight and I couldn't be happier for him. His shots were falling, he was able to run the point well and made things happen for this team. He was so into the zone that when he shot a three in Hibbert's face he proceeded to let out a big ol' smile and Hibbert who took it as a slap in the face and went on to get a little bit too physical with Jeff Pendergraph, who took on the role of protector. Pendo and Hibbert were both slapped with a technical and the game went on. Gotta love Jeff's intensity and willingness to get physical. Hopefully he doesn't make it too much of a habit since he's still on a rookie salary, don't think he can afford too many techs. The Blazers were able to cruise to a 102 - 79 win.
Photo of the night:
Rudy, you rock those streamers tonight because your 16 points were big for us!
The Blazers get a nice three day break and next travel to Denver to take on league rivals, the Denver Nuggets.
• The Nuggets have won 19 of the last 26 meetings with the Trail Blazers, including 11 of 12 games played between the teams in Denver, with Portland’s only road win during that stretch coming on Dec. 16, 2007. • Portland and Denver have split the first two games of this season’s series, 1-1, with both games contested at the Rose Garden. The Trail Blazers have shot 40.0% (16-40) from three-point range but just 43.3% overall in the two meetings. Portland holds the advantage in assists, 42-25, in the two games.
• Brandon Roy has averaged 35.5 points (52.4% FG), including a 41-point effort on Christmas Day, in two series games vs. the Nuggets this season.
• All four games between Portland and Denver this season will be played in front of a national audience, counting four of Portland’s 16 scheduled nationally televised games this year.
• The Trail Blazers and Nuggets split the series for the second straight season in 2008-09, with the home team winning each game.
• Portland shot 46.8% from the field (41.9% 3-PT) in four series contests last season while limiting Denver to 43.8% shooting (33.9% 3-PT).
• Andre Miller played for Denver for three-plus seasons from 2003-06, posting averages of 14.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.51 steals in 269 games. Miller averaged 16.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.53 steals in 15 playoff games with the Nuggets.
• Nuggets assistant coach Tim Grgurich worked two stints as an assistant coach for Portland from 1998-2001 and 2004-05.
• Denver General Manager and the NBA’s reigning Executive of the Year Mark Warkentien worked 10 seasons for the Trail Blazers, ending in 2003-04, including stints as assistant general manager and director of player personnel.
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