Wolves see Blazers recover quickly

A loss Monday knocked the Blazers off their game, but as the Wolves found out, it was only temporary.

By Kent Youngblood, Star Tribune

Last update: January 4, 2008 - 1:19 AM

The Portland Trail Blazers came to Target Center on Wednesday night and got started on another streak. The Wolves, meanwhile, remained firmly entrenched in one of their own.

Put together all the familiar factors — not quite enough offense, a few too many breakdowns on defense and a couple of those killer stretches that have defined the Wolves’ season so far — and you have a 90-79 Blazers victory.

Brandon Roy scored 24 points and LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and 11 rebounds for Portland, which had its
13-game winning streak ended Monday in Utah.

Al Jefferson’s 29 points and 16 rebounds led the Wolves, who lost their sixth in a row and their second to Portland in a week. Ryan Gomes (10 points) was the only other Wolves player in double figures.

Portland used a 14-4 run in the second quarter to take control, one fueled off the bench by James Jones. Another 15-6 run to end the third quarter came after the Wolves had played their way back into contention.

And that meant in the fourth quarter the Blazers won without breaking a sweat — and without hitting a field goal for the first five minutes of the quarter.

The Wolves did clamp down on defense, and for a moment it appeared the Wolves might rally. Down 81-64, two free throws by Craig Smith and two baskets by Gerald Green started a 10-2 run that pulled them within 83-74. But Aldridge blocked Jefferson at one end, then Jones hit two free throws at the other and the Blazers were back in control.

In the end the Wolves played tough defense but had too much of a tough time at the other end to make it count: The Blazers shot only 30-for-77 (39 percent), but the Wolves responded with their worst shooting performance of the season (28-for-80, 35 percent).
Neither team shot well in the first quarter, but the Blazers finished it with a lead because they got to the free-throw line. Aldridge led the Blazers with 10 points and Jefferson had nine for the Wolves.

In the second quarter one team warmed up early, at least for a while. Portland came out, playing mainly reserves, and started shooting the lights out. The Blazers hit their first six shots of the quarter to take a 37-25 lead. Jones was the spark. He went 4-for-4 in that stretch, including two consecutive three-pointers from the corner.

The Blazers, up by four early in the quarter, ripped off a 14-4 run to take a 41-27 lead on Aldridge’s dunk with just over seven minutes left in the quarter, and Portland kept a double-digit lead for the rest of the half.

A 10 point lead grew to 15 early in the third quarter before a 14-3 run — led by Jefferson’s seven points — brought the Wolves within 60-56 with 4:50 left in the third.

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