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Randolph posts third straight double-double for Blazers

Mar 12, 2007 - 5:02 AM PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) -- Zach Randolph's leadership led the Portland Trail Blazers to a long-awaited triumph.

Randolph scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and rookie Brandon Roy added 26 points for the Trail Blazers in a 106-87 triumph over the Golden State Warriors.

In winning for just the second time in six contests, the Trail Blazers ended a seven-game losing streak against the Warriors, who had a three-game overall winning streak snapped.

"It wasn't one of our best games, but we played hard and were pretty consistent," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "Having four days off isn't the best thing for our rhythm and timing. But we finally started going after the first quarter."

"I like Portland," Warriors coach Don Nelson said. "I liked them even before this season. They are tough to beat now and we knew that. Nate is just doing a good job with this team and they are really starting to mature."

Ranked last in defense (107.1), Golden State has yielded at least 100 points in each of its last 10 defeats. This latest loss left the Warriors (29-36) 1 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Clippers (29-33) for eighth place in the Western Conference.

"We just weren't ready," Golden State guard Jason Richardson said. "Our mind-set has to be different. We need to be a team that is playing like one and thinking like one.

"Games we are supposed to win, we got to go out and win. We just can't get up for teams that we are in the playoff race against. We got to be ready for every game."

Randolph's layup with 8:15 remaining in the third quarter ignited a 16-0 run that broke open the contest and gave the Trail Blazers a 78-59 lead. Ime Udoka hit a pair of 3-pointers and a layup in the burst.

After Richardson made a basket from the arc with 5:01 left in the period, Randolph scored Portland's next seven points en route to its season-high 35-point third-quarter.

"I tried to be aggressive in trying to help get everyone involved so we all can contribute," Randolph said. "I pumped up a couple threes. Coach doesn't really like me doing that but I had my feet set and was catching it in rhythm. It was just good right for the whole team. This team is getting better."

A two-time Western Conference Rookie of the Month this season, Roy scored 14 points in the first half and added a jumper and a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to give the Trail Blazers a 94-72 with 7:39 remaining.

"I wanted to come out and be aggressive and help set a tone for the whole night," Roy said. "I got it going a little bit early so I didn't want to shy away from that in the second half. I think we all played really well tonight and we all wanted to get back on a winning streak."

"Everyone stepped it up and contributed," Randolph said. "That's what we need is to have everyone contribute. And when Brandon plays big like that, he takes a lot of pressure off of me. The way he plays makes everyone better and that is showing with our improvement and our ability to compete night in and out."

Randolph hit 11-of-21 from the floor and Roy finished 9-of-18, including three 3-pointers. Udoka scored 15 points for Portland, which was 10-of-23 from the arc,

Al Harrington scored 16 points and Richardson had 14 for the Warriors, who played without leading scorer Baron Davis (20.7) after he complained of stiffness in his left knee.

"I just got stiff," Davis said. "My knee was stiff and sore. It was hurting and that was about it. That's all I can really say. It's just one of those days."

"It's hard to believe one guy (Davis) could have this much (impact) on a team, but that looked to be the case," Nelson said. "He wanted to play late in the game, but we weren't playing well and I didn't think we had a chance to win the game, so I decided to wait another day."