Roy Comes Through In The Clutch As Blazers Stop T-Wolves 103-96

Brandon Roy scored a game high 27 points, and came up big in the decisive fourth quarter, and the Portland Trail Blazers got by a frisky Minnesota Timberwolves team Tuesday night 103-96. The T-Wolves played well for three quarters before they ended? up fading short of the finish line. Al Jefferson led Minnesota with a double-double, as his team had a nice night shooting. The T-Wolves shot 49.4% (41-83) from the floor for the game, and a smoking 54.5% (6-11) from outside the arc.

Although the Blazers were the pleasant surprise from the Western Conference the first half of the season, as they led the Northwest Division, they have fallen on hard times in the last six weeks or so. They are now in third place in their division trailing division leaders Utah by 8 games. They are?also trailing the current number eight seed in the Western Conference Golden State by 5.5 games and have Denver to jump over if they intend to make a playoff chase. This was a game that Portland needed to win to preserve any hope of remaining a possible contender, but Minnesota did not make it easy.

The two teams played to a draw in the first quarter as they were deadlocked at 26-26 at the end of the period. Minnesota made a late run in the second quarter to give the T-Wolves the lead at the half 54-50.? Although Portland would trail by as many as six points earlier in the third quarter, they ended the period with a 79-77 advantage as the two teams headed into the final?quarter. The T-Wolves had a 89-88 lead as Al Jefferson hit a?9 foot shot, with 6:05 left in the game. That was the last time in the contest that Minnesota did not trail, as they simply ran out of gas.

Roy scored 27 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 block, in the Portland victory. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 20 points,?2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, Martell Webster scored 13 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal. James Jones came off the bench and scored 13 points, 5 rebounds, Steve Blake scored 11 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds.

Al Jefferson recorded a double-double 20 points, 10 boards, Rashad McCants scored 18 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds,?2 blocks, 1 steal.? Ryan Gomes scored 16 points,?2 rebounds, 1 steal, Craig Smith scored 15 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists. Marko Jaric scored 12 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals. Portland is now 34-31, while Minnesota is now 14-49.