NBA Roundup: Trail Blazers beat Rockets, lose Oden
Published 11:42 pm Saturday, December 5, 2009
PORTLAND, Ore. — The somber Portland Trail Blazers found it difficult to celebrate a victory after losing Greg Oden.
Brandon Roy had 28 points and scored the winning basket to help Portland beat Houston 90-89 on Saturday night, but the Blazers were both solemn and resolute with the probable season-ending injury to Oden in the first quarter.
“I told everyone in the locker room I felt this was like a punch to the gut,” said Portland general manager Kevin Pritchard, who selected Oden No. 1 in the 2007 draft.
Oden fractured his left kneecap while jumping to defend Aaron Brooks. The former No. 1 draft pick was carried off the floor on a stretcher. Oden will undergo surgery and is expected to miss the rest of the season, Blazers spokeswoman Cheri Hanson said.
Oden collapsed to the floor clutching his knee and grimacing in pain midway through the first quarter. Oden’s knee did not appear to make any contact with Brooks. Play was stopped for 7 minutes while the 7-footer was tended to. He was wheeled from the court and underwent an MRI.
“I went initially to help him up,” Roy said. “Then I saw him and he was yelling, and I thought, “This is serious.’ I almost panicked. I wanted to be like,’ Stop the game!”’
Carl Landry led Houston with 23 points, and Luis Scola had 21. The Rockets came into the game with a three-game road winning streak and they led 87-86 with 37 seconds left after Landry made two free throws.
Roy answered with a fadeaway jumper from the free-throw line to put the Blazers up, but Scola gave the Rockets back the lead with 9.1 seconds on a 20-footer. Roy took the ball at the top of the key and drove down the middle for winning basket with 3.2 seconds left. Brooks missed on the other end as time expired.
Bobcats 106, 76ers 105
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Raymond Felton’s driving layup with 4.7 seconds left capped a late comeback and Charlotte beat Philadelphia.
Magic 126, Warriors 118
OAKLAND, Calif. — Vince Carter had 27 points and seven assists, and Mickael Pietrus scored a season-high 22 points in Orlando’s comeback victory.
Timberwolves 108, Jazz 101
MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Love had 18 points and 10 rebounds in his second game back from a broken hand, and Minnesota won for the third time in 20 games.
Suns 115, Kings 107
PHOENIX — Steve Nash scored 32 points, Amare Stoudemire had 18 points and 21 rebounds and Phoenix used a late 3-point spree to beat Sacramento.
Nuggets 106, Spurs 99
SAN ANTONIO — Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points, and Chauncey Billups added 18 points to help Denver open a four-game trip with a victory.
Clippers 88, Pacers 72
LOS ANGELES — Al Thornton scored 19 points, and Baron Davis had eight of his 12 points during Los Angeles’ game-ending 18-4 run.
Raptors 110, Bulls 78
CHICAGO — Chris Bosh had 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead Toronto to its second victory in two nights following a five-game losing streak.
Hawks 80, Mavericks 75
DALLAS — Joe Johnson scored 31 points and Atlanta ended a streak of five winless trips to Dallas.
