Blazers pound road-weary Cavs

Basketball Betting Lines

01/18/2007 - Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Zach Randolph scored 26 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, as the Portland Trail Blazers rolled to a 94-76 victory over the road-weary Cleveland Cavaliers.

Brandon Roy added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who wrapped up a three-game homestand at 2-1 while winning for just the second time in six games.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 14 points off the bench, and Sergio Rodriguez added nine assists. Portland was again without guard Jarrett Jack, who suffered a concussion in a car accident last Friday.

LeBron James scored 23 points and added six rebounds for the Cavaliers, who were playing the fifth game of their season-long seven-game road trip, losing for the third time.

It didn't help that Cleveland was playing in a place where it has had little success recently, losing for the seventh time in its last eight games at Portland.

Larry Hughes netted 17 points as Cleveland made just 23 of its 65 shot attempts (35.4 percent) in the game. The club ended 28-of-45 from the free throw line.

Cleveland shot just 2-of-14 from the field -- both jumpers by James -- in the first quarter en route to falling behind 18-9. Ime Udoka and Roy combined for 11 points in the first 12 minutes for the Trail Blazers.

The Cavaliers got it going in the second though, and outscored Portland 28-23 to get back in the game. Down 10 with under nine minutes left in the frame, Cleveland went on a 7-2 run, as two free throws by Hughes cut the deficit to 26-21.

A layup by Aldridge later upped the Trail Blazers' lead to 40-31 with under two minutes to play in the half, but Cleveland netted six of the quarter's final seven points to trail 41-37 at the break.

Cleveland's shooting problems returned in the third quarter though. The club hit just five shots from the floor in the frame, and the Trail Blazers took advantage to stretch their lead to 70-51 heading into the final frame after scoring 29 points in the third.

Two of the Cavs' five buckets came in the first minute, as Cleveland got within 44-42 after layup and free throw by Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Portland went on to net the next nine points -- five from Dan Dickau -- as Cleveland didn't find the scoreboard again until a free throw by Hughes with 7:03 on the clock.

Four straight points by Roy late in the frame pushed Portland's lead to 66-48. The Cavaliers never threatened in the final frame.

Game Notes

Udoka finished with 12 points, while Juan Dixon had nine points off the bench...Portland shot 46.3 percent from the floor...Daniel Gibson had 10 points in defeat...Cleveland shot 2-of-12 from three-point range...The Cavs wrap up their road trip with games at Denver and Golden State...The Cavaliers had just seven assists, tying an all-time franchise low.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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