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Trail Blazers toy with woeful Wizards

Jan 25, 2009 - 6:16 AM By Daniel Cochran PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) -- In the Western Conference, the Washington Wizards are out of their league.

All-Star candidate Brandon Roy collected 22 points, tied a franchise record with 10 steals and added seven assists and five rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers hammered the woeful Wizards, 100-87, on Saturday.

The loss came on the heels of crushing defeats by the Golden State Warriors (119-98) and Los Angeles Lakers (117-97) this past week for Washington.

"You're always looking forward to going back home when you've back out for a week. And the opposition hasn't been exactly friendly to us," Wizards head coach Ed Tapscott said.

Rookie Greg Oden dominated the paint, collecting 18 points and 14 rebounds. Oden has 52 points and 37 rebounds in his past three games, largely due to a sharp increase in his playing time.

"It feels good when you're out there playing. You actually put up good numbers when you're out there on the court," Oden said. "You just try to go in and fight for the rebounds. One game you might be in the right spot, another game you might not."

Caron Butler led the way for Washington, netting 29 points while going 9-of-15 from the field. The Wizards' only moment of respite came when Butler tied the game at 24-24 in the second quarter.

From there, the Blazers never looked back.

Sergio Rodriguez drained a 3-pointer to put the Blazers back on top and followed two plays later with a turnaround jump shot.

The Blazers held the Wizards to 14 points in the second quarter and 31 in the first half. They had built a 73-55 lead by the start of the fourth quarter.

"I thought we came out very aggressive defensively. This is a jump-shooting team so we needed to get into the ball," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "They were trying to attack in the middle, which is normally where the offense tried to go to. We recovered."

Rodriguez, who had been averaging 6.5 points since filling in for injured starter Steve Blake, had 12 points and seven assists.

"Of course, when I am getting more minutes, I am feeling more confident," Rodriguez said.

Fellow Spaniard Rudy Fernandez missed seven shots in a row, including five 3-pointers, before putting in a pretty breakaway layup with 7:26 to go in the fourth quarter.

Fernandez followed up on the next play with a 3-pointer from the left wing, giving the Blazers an 87-67 lead.

Portland, despite Wednesday's loss to LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers, has won four of its past five home games, improving to 16-5 at the Rose Garden this season.

Washington drops to 3-19 on the road, tying it with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the worst road record in the NBA.