| 06 March 2011
The Portland Trail Blazers weren't at their best, but they stifled the Charlotte Bobcats in the second half to coast to an easy 93-69 win, spoling the returns of Joel Przybilla and Dante Cunningham.
Przybilla, Cunningham warmly welcomed, produce in return
Cunningham, acquired by Charlotte along with Przybilla in the deal that sent Gerald Wallace to Portland, entered at the 10:20 mark of the first quarter to a standing ovation, and it didn’t take him long to produce, hitting a jumper from the top of the key. He was quiet for the remainder of the game, but made the most of his minutes on the defensive end.
Przybilla, who saw his first action following a timeout late in the first quarter, drew a raucous cheer, and made much more of an impact on both ends. He scored inside, blocked shots, drew charges—being the player that made him a fan favorite with Portland.
On his reception, Przybilla said postgame, "I'll remember this until the day I die."
The Rose Garden fans chanted his name in the fourth quarter, then gave him another ovation after he fouled out with just over a minute left. He finished with five points and three rebounds in 17 minutes, while Cunningham added four points, three rebounds, a steal, and a block in 18 minutes.
“I love both guys,” Blazers head coach Nate McMillan said postgame. “They were good for us. I love what both of them bring. They come in and they work…whether it’s practice or in games.”
What was it like facing them, especially Przybilla? “That was weird,” said Nicolas Batum. “Joel was like a big brother to us. And he helped ease my transition from France to the NBA.”
A first half that was hard to watch
Points were hard to come by in the first 24 minutes. Charlotte scored only 35 and Portland didn’t do much better, mustering 40 on 37 percent shooting. The Blazers finished the second quarter on a 10-0 run, but aside from the efficient play of LaMarcus Aldridge and Andre Miller the team shot only 5-26 from the field.
The trio of Gerald Henderson, D.J. White, and D.J. Augustin scored 23 points, but not much else went right for Charlotte. The offensive nightmare would only continue.
Brandon Roy, Patty Mills provide much-needed spark
The Bobcats stormed out of the gate, scoring 10 of the third quarter’s first twelve points. That’s when Portland stepped up, holding them to seven points over the final nine minutes of the quarter. Benefiting from this defensive pressure, Roy and Mills helped stretch the lead to a comfortable margin.
Roy, who has had his minutes extended by McMillan, scored all 10 of his points in the second half. He hit a jumper over Cunningham late in the third, then became a distributor, finding Mills for a three-pointer that swelled the advantage to 15.
Mills, coming off a 14-point performance, had four three-pointers in all. “Patty really gets us into that flow offensively,” McMillan said. “The transition is good. I thought he did a good job pressuring D.J. [Augustin] and Livingston.”
Points off turnovers, free-throw advantage proved pivotal for Blazers
Portland put the first-half funk behind them by forcing turnovers and turning those opportunities into aggressive offensive possessions. Charlotte had 22 turnovers, and 31 points were scored off them. Some of those points came from the free-throw line, as the Blazers held an 11-point advantage in that category.
A tough road trip on the horizon
Having defeated Charlotte, Portland now heads on a four-game road trip, facing Orlando, Miami, Charlotte, and Atlanta. Orlando will be without Dwight Howard, who will serve a one-game suspension, and Miami is struggling, but the trip poses a significant challenge nonetheless.
“We’re going to need to dig deep, play hard, and come home,” said Mills. [It’s] A big road trip.”
photo: espn
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