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Roy shoots Blazers to 11th straight win

Dec 26, 2007 - 5:18 AM PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) -- It may have taken a shot to the jaw to keep the Portland Trail Blazers' impressive run alive.

Brandon Roy left the court in the second quarter but sparked a third-quarter onslaught as the Trail Blazers extended their winning streak to 11 games with an 89-79 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Christmas night.

Reserve Jarrett Jack scored 17 points and Joel Przybilla added a season-high 16 rebounds for Portland, which has won eight straight at home and will close out its six-game homestand on Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. In that contest, the club will be seeking to tie the 12-game run of the 2001-02 edition.

"We're finding ways to win," said Przybilla. "Tonight we didn't shoot the ball well, but we defended well. On nights when the shot isn't going you have to find other ways to win and that's what we did tonight."

"I think about it but we aren't good enough to go out there and just play real loose," said Roy of the streak. "We have to come out focused every night and not take teams for granted. We are just trying to ride this wave."

Behind Roy, it took Portland just 2:41 to blow out a 54-50 third-quarter lead to a 16-point edge.

Przybilla started the spurt with a layup, Roy scored five points in the run and followed a shot from the arc by Steve Blake with one of his own to cap a 12-0 run and provide a 66-50 edge with 4 1/2 minutes to play. Roy also scored the first three hoops of the third for Portland, and finished the period with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

"I missed a lot of shots in the first half but one of the coaches told me to keep on being aggressive," said Roy. "So I tried to be aggressive and just put pressure on them."

"They came out very aggressive, Kevin Durant said of Portland's third quarter. "We did too, but we missed a lot of shots. We gave up a lot of easy baskets."

Roy, who shot 2-of-11 in the first half, left the court after taking an elbow to the jaw by Seattle forward Chris Wilcox late in the first half.

"Yeah, I got an elbow to the mouth and to add insult to injury they called a foul on me too," said Roy. "It slowed me down a little bit. I went to the locker room and relaxed a little bit. I told (Blazers coach Nate McMillan) that I was fine and would be able to go the second half."

Seattle countered with the rookie Durant, who scored eight points during a 12-4 quarter-ending run to draw within 70-62 after the third period. The Sonics pulled within 74-68 early in the fourth, but Channing Frye hit two jumpers and James Jones capped a 9-0 run with a 3-pointer from the right corner off Roy's penetration to provide an 83-68 lead with 5:49 remaining.

"Brandon Roy controls the game," said Durant. "He doesn't have to score. ... he sets guys up for baskets. With a guy like that, you're going to win."

Roy finished with 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds. He entered averaging 22 points and seven assists during the Blazers' run.

Fellow reserve Frye added 12 points and eight rebounds for Portland, which finished with season highs of 19 offensive rebounds and 53 rebounds, and had just six turnovers.

"We didn't have the rhythm that we usually have," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "But with only six turnovers plus 19 offensive rebounds, I thought that was enough to win. Once again our second unit came through. Jack, Frye and Sergio (Rodriquez) all played well."

Durant had 23 points and Wally Szczerbiak 19 for Seattle, which has lost three of four.

"The single biggest thing was definitely the offensive rebounds," Sonics coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "Both teams were struggling against each other trying to score. What it should have been is an ugly 75-75-type game."

Despite shooting 39 percent (19-of-49), Portland had a 46-44 lead at the half based on an 11-6 edge in offensive rebounding and just three turnovers. Jack scored eight in the second period as Portland led by as many as six.

"Tonight happened to be my night," said Jack. "I was able to get us going in the first half and then the big gun was able to pick it up in the second half."

Seattle shot 45 percent (18-of-40) from the floor in the opening 24 minutes and drained 5-of-7 3-pointers - including three by Szczerbiak - to stay close.

Szczerbiak scored 12 points off the pine in the first period as the SuperSonics jumped to a 22-16 lead before settling for a 24-24 tie at the end of 12 minutes.