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Roy leads Blazers past lowly Clippers

Jan 27, 2009 - 7:15 AM By John Reger PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Brandon Roy scored 33 points, leading the Portland Trail Blazers to a 113-88 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.

Roy blistered the struggling Clippers, making his first five shots, scoring 10 points in the first quarter and 22 for the half.

"I was hitting shots in the first half," Roy said. "In warm-ups my shot really felt good."

The 24-year-old guard made 11-of-15 shots from the field, including both 3-pointers and 9-of-10 free throws, pacing the Blazers to their second straight win.

"Roy is the guy that drives the bus for them," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "We tried to pay more attention to him in the second half and he still made some good shots."

Los Angeles, which has lost 16 of its last 18 games, were led by Al Thornton's 23 points while Steve Novak poured in a career-high 21, draining 5-of-8 3-pointers.

The game was close in the first half, with 16 lead changes and eight ties as neither team had an advantage of more than five points.

Second-year center Greg Oden was able to expose a Clippers frontcourt that is decimated with injuries as Marcus Camby (sprained left ankle), Zach Randolph (sore left knee) and Chris Kaman (strained left arch) remain sidelined.

Oden scored 16 points, though he was limited to just six rebounds.

"This is a good road win for us," Oden said. "We were trying to stay aggressive."

The Trail Blazers led by one at halftime, 49-48, and had as much as a seven-point edge in the third quarter. But the Clippers rallied back, taking a 70-69 lead when Novak hit a 3-pointer with 2:45 remaining in the session.

But Portland built a seven-point lead with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third by Rudy Fernandez and an opening three by Travis Outlaw in the final quarter.

The Blazers opened the fourth with a 9-0 run, forging a 12-point lead 2:26 into the final session. Outlaw scored eight points during the surge, recording 16 of his 20 points in the fourth.

"When he plays defense, it puts him in an offensive rhythm," Portland coach Nate McMillan said of Outlaw. "He is one of the guys we look to coming off the bench."

The Clippers started the fourth going 1-of-8 from the field, sealing their fate. They were outscored, 36-15, in the final quarter en route to their fourth loss in five games.

"Portland was a young team a couple of years ago," said Clippers guard Fred Jones, who finished with a career-high 19 points and added seven assists. "They were in the exact same position we are in and they worked through it to get where they are."