There’s two names that you’ll probably hear about more often this season – Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden and Golden State Warriors guard Anthony Morrow; one may wonder why those two?  Well, consider this: Oden, when healthy, has the chance to be one of the better centers in the Western Conference.  On the other hand, what Morrow has done is impressive in its own right – he is an undrafted rookie who just came off a career-high 37 points against the Los Angeles Clippers and is averaging 17.0 PPG.  In the game, ironically between the Trail Blazers and the Warriors, both players impressed; Oden scored a career-high 22 points yet it was the duo of Stephen Jackson and Morrow combining for 45 points, leading Golden State to a 111-106 win over Portland at Oracle Arena.

Both teams shot relatively well as the Trail Blazers hald a slim 27-24 lead going into the second quarter; Morrow made his presence felt as he drained three 3-pointers as Golden State took a 51-49 edge into halftime.  Fast-forwarding to the fourth quarter, Oden opened up some eyes with some major dunks reminiscent of Shaquille O’Neal – but then again, Golden State has always had size mismatches – in the second half which would put Portland to within 94-91 with 6:01 left in the game.

Golden State would hold a 5-point lead and have possession of the ball with 13 ticks on the clock, but Portland would narrow the gap to 108-105 on a steal and layup by Brandon Roy; Morrow would then turn the ball over and the Trail Blazers’ Travis Outlaw would hit a free throw.  But referee Bob Delaney called Outlaw for a lane violation on the next shot; Portland’s Rudy Fernandez would then get called for holding on the inbounds play and would subsequently get a technical foul for arguing the obvious call.  Morrow hit three free throws as a result, sealing the win for Golden State.

Golden State’s high scorer was the aforementioned Morrow with 25 points (including 4 three-pointers), 4 rebounds, an assist and a steal while Corey Maggette and Jackson added 20 apiece – with Maggette grabbing 4 rebounds, dishing out 3 assists, with 2 steals and 2 blocked shots while Jackson grabbed 8 boards, dished out 8 assists with a steal and a blocked shot.  Andris Biedrins poured in 17 with 9 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 2 blocked shots while Kelenna Azubuike chipped in, scoring 15 with 5 rebounds, an assist and 2 steals.

Portland was led by Roy and Oden with 22 points each, with Roy draining 3 treys along with grabbing 4 rebounds, dishing out 9 assists and nabbing 4 steals while Oden grabbed 10 boards, dished out 2 assists with a steal and 2 blocked shots but 5 turnovers.  Golden State (5-6) plays again on Friday when they host the Chicago Bulls while Portland (6-5) returns home to host the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.