Print
Email
Share

Crawford scores 27 in Hawks' victory over Blazers

Crawford scores 27 in Hawks' victory over Blazers

Credit: AP

Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden, left, looks for an opening to the basket as Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford defends during the first quarter of their NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

by Associated Press

NWCN.com

Posted on November 3, 2009 at 10:02 PM

Updated Wednesday, Nov 4 at 7:10 AM

PORTLAND, Ore. - Jamal Crawford scored 27 points off the bench and the Atlanta Hawks outlasted the Portland Trail Blazers 97-91 on Tuesday night.

Al Horford's dunk with 56.6 seconds left made it 95-89 and all but sealed it for the Hawks. Horford finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

LaMarcus Aldridge, who was questionable going into the game with a knee injury, led the Blazers with 20 points and 14 rebounds.

Horford's dunk on a fast break put the Hawks up 86-80 with six minutes left in the fourth quarter. He momentarily stood underneath the basket, staring down the Rose Garden crowd in defiance after Portland led by as many as 12 points in the first half.

Portland's Travis Outlaw made a jumper and a 3-pointer to narrow it to 86-85, but Crawford came back with a jump from the top of the arc with 4:01 left.

After Outlaw closed in again with another jumper, Joe Johnson hit a 3-pointer to make it 91-89 for the Hawks.

Andre Miller made a pair of free throws for Portland before Johnson's jumper and Horford's dunk with just under a minute left kept Portland at bay the rest of the way.

The Hawks (3-2) were playing the second of a four-game road trip. They fell 118-110 to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

Aldridge played against the Hawks after he was knocked out of Portland's game Sunday at Oklahoma City with a bone contusion on his right knee. The Blazers (2-2) defeated the Thunder 83-74.

The Blazers and the Hawks split their series last season, with each team holding their own at home. Portland has won nine of the last 10 at the Rose Garden.

The Blazers began to pull away late in the first quarter, capped by Brandon Roy's two-handed jam to make it 25-15. Oden padded the lead to start the second with a dunk off a pass from Miller.

But the Hawks came back, with a 14-6 run capped by closing Mike Bibby's 3-pointer to close to within 43-41. The Hawks narrowed it to 48-47 at the break. Atlanta was led by Crawford, who had 15 points in the quarter.

Atlanta jumped up early in the second half. The brief lead was marked by a Horford shot that came to rest on the space between the rim and the backboard.

Portland came back to go up by as much as 64-56 after Steve Blake's 10-foot-jumper, but again Atlanta answered and led 72-69 at the end of three.

Roy's step-back jumper tied it for the Blazers at 80, but the Hawks scored the next six straight, capped by Horford's fast break dunk, with an assist from Crawford, that made it 86-80.

Print
Email
Share

Forgot Password?

Don't have an account?

Register Now

Member Benefits

Link your account to your Twitter or Facebook account for easier login!

Link your account to your Facebook profile Link your account to your Twitter profile

Check box to receive Free Special Offers

* - Indicates required field

Check box to receive Free Special Offers

Connecting to

You may need to allow pop up window for this step of registration

Just one more step:

Please take a moment to review the available e-mail newsletters has to offer. Place a checkbox next to the newsletters you wish to subscribe to.

Welcome.

Thank you for becoming a member of NWCN.com. You now have full access to the best local coverage and late breaking news from NWCN.com. Soon you will be redirected to the page you were seeking, and a confirmation email will be delivered to you.

You will need to respond to the confirmation e-mail for your account to be activated.

NWCN.com is dedicated to bringing you exceptional news and outstanding information services, all while personalizing it to your liking. We're sure you'll enjoy being a NWCN.com member! If you need assistance, please contact us.