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Roy, Outlaw shine as Blazers beat Heat

Dec 7, 2007 - 7:43 AM PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) -- Brandon Roy scored 25 points to lead five players in double figures as the Portland Trail Blazers posted a 112-106 victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday.

Travis Outlaw contributed 20 points and seven rebounds off the bench and LaMarcus Aldridge added 14 and 10 for the Trail Blazers, who have won two straight following a four-game slide.

"For the second straight game, Travis came off the bench and gave us a spark," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "This is what we wanted from Travis. He comes in as a power forward on the second unit and has really got it going."

Perhaps suffering from the sophomore jinx, Roy took over in the second half after being held to just seven points over the first two quarters to help Portland hold a 77-73 edge heading into the fourth.

"I went through that tough stretch for three or four games and I felt like I wasn't playing up to my abilities," Roy said of his early struggles this season. "I talked to the coach and he said, 'Quit thinking so much.' He said to go out there and be aggressive. That's what I did. Even when I missed shots, I didn't care, and I continued to be aggressive."

The reigning Rookie of the Year poured in 11 of the Blazers' 21 third-quarter points.

Dwyane Wade nailed a jumper, then scored on a driving layup as Miami closed to within 88-87 with six minutes remaining.

But the Heat would get no closer as Outlaw netted five points during an aggressive 12-3 surge with 1:55 left to give the Trail Blazers their first winning streak of the season.

"We got down and then we had to come back," Miami coach Pat Riley said. "We cut it to 88-87, then (Steve) Blake hit a long jumper and Outlaw hit a tough shot. After a while, it was simply 1-on-1 to the basket. It was one thing after another defensively."

Miami fell to 0-3 on its six-game tour of the Western Conference.

"It may look like a nightmare now," Wade said. "(But) we'll wake up one day from it. It doesn't get any easier from here. We just can't turn the ball over and give other teams easy baskets."

Wade had 21 points and 10 boards and rookie Daequan Cook scored a season-best 20 for the Heat, who shot 50 percent (44-of-86) in losing their fourth straight game.

In the first quarter, Miami's Shaquille O'Neal sent Portland's Joel Przybilla crashing to the floor at the 11:11 mark, causing him to remain down for several minutes before leaving the game.