It has been that kind of season for the Portland Trail Blazers: Hope for the best but expect the worst.

On Wednesday, the oft-injured Blazers got some better-than-expected news about starting forward Nicolas Batum. An MRI showed he strained his right shoulder, and he is questionable for Game 3 of the first-round playoff series between the Blazers and the Suns.

The resilient Blazers claimed the opening game of the series 105-100 in Phoenix but fell back in a 119-90 loss Tuesday night.

Batum injured his shoulder in the second half when he went after a loose ball and appeared to bang his shoulder into Suns guard Steve Nash’s shoulder.

The injury was of particular concern because Batum, the team’s primary perimeter defender, had surgery on the shoulder just before the opener and missed the first 45 games of the season.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Brandon Roy or no Brandon Roy, the Portland Trail Blazers give the Phoenix Suns fits.

Game 1 of their first-round playoff series was no exception, and the homecourt advantage the Suns worked so hard to get is history after Portland pulled away over the final 4 1/2 minutes to beat them 105-100 on Sunday night.
Andre Miller scored 15 points in the fourth quarter and tied his career playoff high with 31 points as Portland made Phoenix the only home team to lose in a playoff opener.

“We have done this all season long,” Blazers coach Nate McMillan said.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 points and Nicolas Batum 18 for Portland in a game played in the methodical style the Blazers wanted. Jerryd Bayless also had 18 for the Blazers, 10 in the fourth quarter, but missed two free throws with 12.2 seconds left to give Phoenix a shot to tie. Steve Nash’s 3-point try was well short, though, and Miller’s two free throws iced the victory.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Stephen Curry scored 42 points and the depleted Golden State Warriors finished their season with a 122-116 victory over the playoff-bound Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.

The short-handed Trail Blazers finished as the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and will face the third-seeded Phoenix Suns when the first-round series kicks off on Sunday night.

The Suns defeated the Utah Jazz 100-86 in their regular-season finale. Portland is 2-1 against Phoenix this season.

“I think we’ll match up against them well,” said Blazers rookie Jeff Pendergraph, who had a career-high 23 points. “Going into that series — almost any series — we’re going in as underdogs. I think that plays to our favor. We’ve been that the whole season so it’s really nothing new for us.”

Monta Ellis finished with 34 for the Warriors, who were down to just five players because of injuries.

Click here to read the full article – By Anne M. Peterson of Associated Press

Andre Miller scored 21 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge and Travis Outlaw each had 19 as Portland built a big first-half lead and beat Minnesota 116-93 Sunday night.


Miller, acquired last summer by Portland, scored 12 points during the third quarter. Aldridge, who had only 12 free throw attempts during the Trail Blazers’ first six games, was 9-for-9, and also grabbed 10 rebounds. Outlaw scored 12 of his 19 points during the second half.

Portland (4-3) won its second consecutive game and moved to within a game of first-place Denver in the Pacific Division. Minnesota (1-6) dropped its sixth consecutive game. The Timberwolves have lost nine straight games to the Blazers, and eight consecutive in Portland.


Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of wgntv.com

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