December 30th, 2007 
Stephen Rhodes 
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The Portland Trail Blazers, during their current winning streak, have the good fortune of having youth and a different hero on any given night helping them win.? Tonight’s hero for the Blazers happened to be from off the bench – forward Travis Outlaw.? Outlaw scored 10 fourth-quarter points, leading Portland to a relatively easy win over the Philadelphia 76ers Sunday at the Rose Garden.
Other than bad shooting by Philadelphia (38.5% from the floor), nothing really stood out other than Portland simply had a better shooting night (47.4% from the floor).? Portland led by as many as 5 in the first half until Philadelphia’s Louis Williams drained a 3-pointer, tying the score at 25.? The Blazers re-took the lead with a layup by Channing Frye and a trey by Sergio Rodriguez; but the 76ers stayed in it, going on a 14-2 run – capped by a dunk by Andre Iguodala – to lead 45-36 at halftime.
Philadelphia pushed the lead to 11 in the third quarter but the Blazers methodically chipped away at their lead, getting to within 61-59 on Steve Blake’s trey.? After Williams made a layup for the Sixers, Portland’s James Jones made 3 straight free throws to narrow it to 63-62.? That’s when Portland’s Outlaw took over, being a big part of the 21-0 run that sealed the win for the Blazers.
Portland’s high scorer was Brandon Roy with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists; Jones and Outlaw added 12 each, while Blake pitched in with 11 – including three 3-pointers.? Philadelphia was led by Iguodala with 24 points and 7 rebounds; Andre Miller added 17 and 11 assists in a losing effort.? Portland (18-12) on a 13-game winning streak, next flies to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz Monday night; Philadelphia (13-17) goes north to Seattle to challenge the SuperSonics – also on Monday night.
