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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, January 2, 2010

NBA: Trail Blazers dress only 8 players, play with mostly 6, beat Warriors


Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. — Brandon Roy scored 37 points, Andre Miller added 23 and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Golden State Warriors 105-89 Saturday night despite dressing only eight players.

Monta Ellis continued his strong play against Portland, leading the Warriors with 30 points. Corey Maggette added 22 points and 10 rebounds and Anthony Randolph had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors, who shot 68.4 percent in the first quarter but 33.3 percent the rest of the way.
Martell Webster had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Portland. The Blazers have been hampered by a spate of injuries and essentially played six players. Rookie forward Jeff Pendergraph started but played just 9 minutes. Shavlik Randolph, a recent acquisition with an injury exemption, played less than a minute.
Of eight players on the shelf, the latest two to go down are forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who sustained a sprained ankle against the Clippers on Wednesday, and guard Steve Blake, who was hospitalized with pneumonia on Friday.
Golden State, on the other hand, is getting healthier. Center Andris Biedrins played his third game after missing 25, and power forward Ronny Turiaf rejoined the team Dec. 26 after missing 12 games. Even though Portland was missing big men Greg Oden, Joel Przybilla and Aldridge, neither Biedrins or Turiaf was a factor in the game.
Roy was sensational for Portland, making 12 of 16 field goal attempts and 12 of 14 free throws in 42 minutes.
He was nearly matched by Ellis, who had 13 of his points in the first quarter but was less effective as Portland pulled ahead in the fourth. Ellis had 34 points, eight assists and a career-high tying six steals against Portland in a 108-94 win on Nov. 20.
The Warriors (9-23), are one of only three teams in the NBA with less than 10 wins. The Blazers (22-13) have won six of their last seven.
Golden State ran out to a 17-3 lead and was up 41-31 after the first quarter, making 15 of 22 from the field. The second quarter was an entirely different story for the Warriors, who went just 6 of 18 from the field and scored only 15 points while letting Portland back in the game. Martell Webster hit a pair of free throws to pull the Blazers within one, 56-55 at the half.
The Blazers took their first lead early in the third after Webster made two 20-footers. Anthony Randolph scored to give the Warriors a 69-66 lead, but Portland closed out the third with a 12-4 run.
Meanwhile, the Warriors had lost all ability to hit shots and Portland gained a comfortable advantage. Webster made a 3-pointer to give the Blazers an 89-80 lead. Roy dunked and then hit two free throws with 3:16 remaining to put Portland up by 12 and essentially seal the game.
NOTES: Golden State is 3-16 on the road this season. ... the Warriors have dominated the series of late, winning five of the last seven. ... Rookie Dante Cunningham had 10 rebounds for Portland.