Blazers throw knockout punch at Bucks

Oden (24 points, 15 rebounds) can't be stopped

By Kerry Eggers

The Portland Tribune, Jan 19, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

There wasn’t a lot of mystery to the way the Trail Blazers went about their 102-85 dismantling of Milwaukee Monday night at the Rose Garden.

Portland pounded the middle against the smaller Bucks, and Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge bullied the visitors into submission.

Oden and Aldridge combined for 46 points and 24 rebounds from the center and power forward positions to lead an inside assault for the ages.

“It was a team effort,” Portland coach Nate McMillan said. “Our guys did a nice job of executing, getting deep post position and getting (Oden and Aldridge) the ball.

“There have been times when our bigs have done that and we haven’t gotten them the ball. Tonight we got them the ball, and they finished. (The Bucks) had a small lineup, and we took advantage of that.”

With Milwaukee center Andrew Bogut out with a back injury, the Blazers won the rebound battle by an almost inconceivable 58-30 — their largest margin by far this season. Nineteen of the rebounds came at the offensive end.

All five starters had at least six boards, Oden leading the way with 15 and point guard Sergio Rodriguez setting a career high with seven. Travis Outlaw contributed eight boards in 27 minutes off the bench.

“Everybody was on the boards,” McMillan said. “We wanted that kind of coverage of the paint collectively. We totally dominated that.”

The victory gave the Blazers a 25-16 record at the halfway point of the season — exactly the same as last season, when they finished 41-41 — as they prepare for Wednesday’s visit by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Milwaukee (20-24) had no answer for Oden, who hadn’t played as many as 20 minutes in the previous three games due to foul trouble. The 7-foot rookie was called for only two fouls in 35 minutes Monday, and made the most of his time with a season-high 24 points while matching his season high with 15 rebounds.

“Greg was really active tonight, moving his feet on both ends of the floor,” McMillan said. “Those are the things we’re looking for from him. Now we’re looking for him to carry that over to (the Cleveland) game.”

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