Portland rally sinks Pistons

Outlaw: 'It felt kind of good when I let it go'

By Kerry Eggers

The Portland Tribune, Jan 7, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (2 Reader comments)

For the longest time Wednesday night at the Rose Garden, it looked like a loss for the Trail Blazers.

But Portland rallied from a 13-point third-quarter deficit and got the clutch plays down the stretch in an 84-83 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

Travis Outlaw sank a 10-foot jump shot with 8.3 seconds remaining and Allen Iverson missed a short runner that could have been a game-winner at the other end for the Pistons (21-12), who saw a seven-game win streak end.

It was an important victory for the Blazers, giving them a 2-2 record in four games without all-star guard Brandon Roy, sidelined with a hamstring injury.

The win broke a two-game losing skein for Portland (21-14), which stayed three games behind Denver (25-12) and a half-game ahead of Utah (21-15) in the tight Northwest Division race.

Outlaw scored the game’s final two baskets, the last one after a timeout in which Coach Nate McMillan drew up a shot for the 24-year-old reserve forward.

“Coach said we were going to ‘iso’ me,” said Outlaw, who hit 6 of 10 shots from the field in en route to a 14-point game. “I knew I could get my shot off. That’s what I did. I didn’t feel any pressure. I’d been building rhythm all game. It felt kind of good when I let it go.”

After a Detroit timeout, the Pistons got the ball to Iverson, who drove right and threw up a 10-footer over the outstretched arm of Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge. The ball bounced off the rim, and Blazer point guard Steve Blake rebounded and ran out the clock as a sellout crowd of 20,644 whooped it up.

“I had my idea who should take (the last shot), but I also asked the (assistant) coaches, and we all agreed Travis should be the guy,” McMillan said. “With Brandon gone, we thought Travis was the best guy to have the ball. We had a favorable matchup and he was able to put the ball on the floor and get a good shot.”

Detroit led 48-34 late in the second quarter and was ahead 60-47 in the third quarter when Portland made its move, getting a jolt from a reserve crew led by Outlaw and including rookie guard Jerryd Bayless, who provided his most meaningful contributions of the season.

Bayless, going aggressively at the basket, spearheaded a 15-4 run that got the Blazers within 64-62 late in the third quarter. It was a battle the rest of the way.

“Scrappy – that’s how we won tonight,” McMillan said. “Our guys scrapped, just like we did in the Boston game (a 91-86 win on Dec. 30). ... this win was a real shot in the arm.”

With Roy out, Aldridge was Portland’s offensive cog with 26 points on 11-of-21 shooting.

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