January 11th, 2009 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
I don’t think there’s any question that Brandon Roy makes the Portland Trail Blazers a better team when he is healthy; when he isn’t, not so much. Be that as it may, Roy made his return to the Rose Garden as the Trail Blazers had a game on Saturday night against the Golden State Warriors. The return of Roy did the team a world of good as he contributed 19 points as Portland soundly defeated Golden State 113-100.
The Warrriors took a 34-22 lead in the second quarter on a 3-pointer by Kelenna Azubuike and a pair of free throws by Corey Maggette; however, the Blazers would rebound to tie the game at 41 on a Roy dunk. Both teams shared leads until Travis Outlaw scored Portland’s final – and the half’s – seven points to give them a 55-49 lead at halftime. The Trail Blazers would never relinquish the lead from that point on as they took over in the third quarter, outscoring Golden State 28-21.
Portland was led by LaMarcus Aldridge with 26 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal and 2 blocked shots while Roy and Outlaw added 19 apiece – with Roy grabbing 6 rebounds, dishing out 5 assists along with 2 steals while Outlaw grabbed 2 rebounds and also had a steal and 2 blocked shots; Steve Blake pitched in, scoring 15 with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
Golden State’s high scorer was Maggette with 25 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals while Azubuike added 21 with a rebound and assist; Jamal Crawford poured in 19 with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Portland plays again on Monday when they travel to Chicago to take on the Bulls while Golden State (10-28) returns home to host the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
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