PORTLAND, Ore. — Brandon Roy scored 42 points and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Houston Rockets 107-103 on Tuesday night to even their playoff series at one game apiece.
Aaron Brooks led a late charge and finished with 23 points for Houston, which has not made it out of the first round since 1997. Von Wafer came off the bench to add 21.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and 12 rebounds for Trail Blazers, who had never dropped the first two games of a playoff series at home and played one of their most physical games of the season.
Greg Oden’s dunk pulled the Blazers into an 89-all tie with 4:45 left, before Steve Blake’s finger roll put them ahead.
Portland extended the lead to 96-90 after Travis Outlaw hit a jumper and Roy made a falling-down 3-pointer.
The Rockets closed to 104-100 on Brooks’ 3-pointer with 6.3 seconds left. After Roy hit a free throw, Brooks made another 3 to make it 105-103 with 1.5 seconds to go.
Rudy Fernandez sealed the win hitting two free throws for Portland.
The Rockets took the first game 108-81 by building a big lead and stunning the nervous Trail Blazers from the start. Yao Ming was perfect, making all nine of his shots from the field and all six of his free throws for 24 points, all in the first half.
Blazers center Joel Przybilla changed it up against Yao for Game 2, fronting him rather than playing behind him. And coach Nate McMillan used both Przybilla and Oden — both 7-footers — at the same time, something he’s done just once before.
Yao had 11 points and eight rebounds but got into foul trouble.
Portland had not been to the playoffs since the 2003 season. The team clinched the West’s fourth seed and home-court advantage with a win over Denver in the finale.
Cavaliers 94, Pistons 82
CLEVELAND — LeBron James, showing no regard for a defensive plan Detroit spent three days preparing for him, scored 29 points and Mo Williams added 21 as the Cleveland Cavaliers withstood a stirring comeback for a win to open a 2-0 lead over the Pistons in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Delonte West scored 20 and Zydrunas Ilgauskas 12 for the top-seeded Cavs, who built a 29-point lead in the fourth but lost their edge and let the Pistons get within seven in the closing minutes before finally putting Detroit away.
Richard Hamilton scored 17 and Rodney Stuckey 14 for the Pistons.
Lakers 119, Jazz 109
LOS ANGELES — Utah kept coming, relentlessly closing within six points time and again. Los Angeles never let its lead get away.
Kobe Bryant scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 22 and Lamar Odom had 19 off the bench in a victory over Utah, giving Los Angeles a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 first-round Western Conference playoff series.
The Lakers’ Phil Jackson notched his 195th career postseason victory, the most of any coach in NBA history.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
