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Outlaw's jumper powers Blazers past Pistons

Jan 8, 2009 - 6:36 AM By James Reddick PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) -- In a game between teams beset by injuries, Travis Outlaw's jumper with 8.3 seconds remaining lifted the Portland Trail Blazers to an 84-83 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

Down by one point, and playing without Brandon Roy, the Blazers turned to Outlaw, who nailed a mid-range fadeaway to hand the Pistons their first loss in eight games.

"I didn't feel pressure," Outlaw said of his game-winner. "I'd been building rhythm all game. It felt kinda good when I let it go."

The teams played a see-saw fourth quarter with Outlaw's shot giving Portland the lead. Detroit called time and set up a final play. Allen Iverson missed a jumper as Steve Blake played tough defense and Portland escaped.

LaMarcus Aldridge led the way for the Blazers with 26 points on 11-of-21 shooting. He also had six rebounds.

Playing without Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace, Detroit looked to be in control throughout much of the game, as it built a 13-point advantage with 6:13 remaining in the third quarter at 60-47.

"I just can't believe we lost that game," Pistons forward Antonio McDyess said. "Just stunned about it - how well we played 'D'. We just let it slip away from us."

Jerryd Bayless, the Blazers' rookie point guard, sparked Portland. During a 15-4 run, Bayless scored six points and had two steals over a 3:07 stretch that set up a back-and-forth final quarter.

"Our bench brought an awful lot of energy, and we especially got a lift from Bayless," Blazers head coach Nate McMillan said. "He got the team fired up, too. I thought we were flat until that point."

Tayshaun Prince led the Pistons, who were without Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace, scoring 26 points on 13-of-21 shooting and snagging eight rebounds.

Sergio Rodriguez's layup with 10:12 remaining gave the Blazers their first lead of the game, 69-68.

Back-to-back threes from Blake and Rudy Fernandez gave the Blazers a 79-75 advantage, but a 6-0 run by the Pistons, featuring two jumpers from Prince put Detroit back ahead by two with 2:26 remaining.

The Trail Blazers were outrebounded by the Pistons, 40-28, but made up for it by hitting 6-of-8 3-pointers. With 1:20 remaining, Iverson penetrated the Blazers' defense before dishing to Kwame Brown for a dunk that made the score 83-80. Outlaw then responded with the final four points for the Blazers.

"This was real big," he said. "We just keep building confidence so, when Brandon comes back, it will be that much easier."