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Blazers hold off Pistons rally, take one at the Palace
Juwan Howard gave Charlie Villanueva a shove. That incident helped to push the road weary and depleted Portland Trail Blazers to a gutsy victory over the Detroit Pistons.
Howard took exception to a hard foul by Villanueva against Rudy Fernandez and that response reignited the Blazers. They squandered an 18-point lead but made enough plays in the closing minutes to notch a 97-93 win at The Palace Saturday night. After Villanueva grabbed Fernandez to prevent a layup and Fernandez fell to the ground, Howard intervened and both players pushed each other before being separated. A double technical was assessed and Villanueva also received a Flagrant One foul. Portland, which lost to Boston in overtime Friday and used just eight players, was clinging to a one-point advantage at that time after leading by 14 at halftime. "It was just a little excessive but it's over with. We move on," Howard said. "All it did was ignite us because they were making a true run. The swing was in their favor to blow us out. It made us come together as a group, not back down from anyone and play hard." The Blazers were missing six players, including leading scorer Brandon Roy, who has a strained right hamstring. Jerryd Bayless became the latest :Portland player to join the walking wounded, as he sat out with a left ankle sprain. Martell Webster carried the Blazers to their big early lead by scoring 21 of his career-high 28 points in the first half. He has 36 3-pointers in 11 games this month, the most by any NBA player. The guard combination of Andre Miller (11 points, 13 assists) and Steve Blake (11 points, 10 assists) contributed double-doubles and Rudy Fernandez provided 19 bench points. "This organization has done an excellent job of drafting and signing good character guys that know how to play the game the right way," Howard said. "We could have easily went south and said, 'Hey, let's tank the season with all the injuries we're dealing with.' That could be an easy excuse to throw in the towel but it's been the total opposite with this group." Aldridge was the steadying force inside with 21 points and eight assists. He also made the defensive play of the game during the final minute with the Blazers leading 94-93. He deflected a Tayshaun Prince pass intended for Richard Hamilton into Webster's hands, forcing the Pistons to foul. Webster made both free throws with 17.9 seconds left but the game was far from over. Hamilton and Villanueva missed 3-pointers during Detroit's ensuing possession. Howard just needed to make one free throw to seal the victory but missed twice with 9.7 seconds left and the Pistons out of timeouts. That gave Rodney Stuckey a chance to tie from the top of the key, but he, too, misfired. Aldridge then made one of two free throws. The Pistons lost for the second time in as many nights. "I'm very disappointed we lost the game," Pistons coach John Kuester said. "Bottom line is we know what we have to do and we've got play with this sense of urgency. We only played 24 minutes and the reason we had won four out five is because we had played hard for the most part. We didn't do that in the first half." Hamilton had 25 points and Stuckey scored all but two of his 20 in the second half. Villanueva had 17 but shot 1-for-9 on 3-pointers. Detroit was 4-for-21 on 3-point tries. The Pistons' poor perimeter shooting has been one of their major problems this season. They're shooting 28.4 percent on 3-point attempts this season. Only woeful New Jersey shoots worse from long range. Portland doesn't have those issues, even with Roy out of the lineup. Andre Miller and Steve Blake can create plays, Webster is deadly from outside, and Aldridge is one of the league's premier pick-and-pop threats. All of that was on display in the first half when the Blazers racked up 20 assists and took a 56-42 lead. Then, they staggered to the finish line. "If there has ever been a gut check for a team, then tonight was certainly one, coming off of an overtime game and an emotional game like last night," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "To be down another player tonight, our guys just stepped up. We were running on fumes and they made a run and we withstood it." The Howard-Villanueva altercation gave them a second wind.