Road-Warrior Knicks Take Down Blazers, 100-86
NEW YORK (AP) — For one night, it was the New York Knicks' defense that stood out.
Amar'e Stoudemir'e had 23 points and eight rebounds, Raymond Felton added 17 points and 14 assists, and New York beat the Portland Trail Blazers 100-86 on Tuesday.
The Knicks (22-15) held Portland to 34.5 percent shooting, and the Blazers took themselves out of the game with poor shots down the stretch.
"Our defense was great," Felton said. "Our defense is what fueled our offense tonight and that's what allowed us to win this game."
Ronny Turiaf had a season-high 19 points and tied a season best with 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who improved to 12-8 away from home, surpassing their road win total from last season. Wilson Chandler added 17 points. Stoudemire has scored at least 20 in 22 straight games.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Blazers. Rudy Fernandez scored 12 of his 18 in the first half, while Andre Miller had 14 points and Nicolas Batum 13.
Portland had an eight-game home winning streak snapped in an overtime loss to Miami on Sunday. The Blazers looked as though they had not recovered, falling behind by 12 in the first half and wilting after briefly taking a third-quarter lead.
"I thought we looked mentally fatigued," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "We were just a step slow in everything we did."
Portland led 57-56 in the third on a layup by Wesley Matthews, but Chandler nailed a 3-pointer to regain the lead for the Knicks. Bill Walker hit a 3 to put them up 71-62 and they led by nine going into the final quarter.
Portland got within 81-76, but Stoudemire hit two free throws and Chandler silenced the Rose Garden crowd with an alley-oop slam that ended the comeback threat. The Blazers were just 4 of 18 on 3-pointers. There were no easy baskets.
"I'd say we are getting it," New York coach Mike D'Antoni said about his team's defense. "The key is that players are buying into it and trying to get better at it."
The 6-foot-10 Turiaf started in place of injured Danilo Gallinari and scored in double digits for only the third time this season. He held his ground against Portland big man Joel Przybilla, keeping Przybilla and Marcus Camby out of the lane to open up opportunities for Stoudemire. Turiaf also had three assists and three steals.
Aldridge and Stoudemire renewed a rivalry that gained notice when the two clashed in the first round of the playoffs last season when Stoudemire was with Phoenix. Stoudemire averaged 20.5 points during that series, which the Suns won, while Aldridge averaged 19.
Stoudemire got the best of the matchup early on Tuesday. Aldridge picked up three fouls in the first half and played just 7 minutes. Without him, Portland struggled, shooting just 36 percent in the half while New York shot 55 percent.
Stoudemire had 13 points by halftime and the Knicks led by as many as 12 in the second quarter.
"We just didn't make shots," Aldridge said. "I tried to force the issue going to the basket, took some shots that probably couldn't go in, but I didn't want to just take jump shots over and over. It was tough."
Notes: Stoudemire received his 11th technical of the season in the first quarter. ... The Blazers had just eight assists. ... Matthews went 2 of 13 from the field. ... Camby had 16 rebounds.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
