Off Topic » The Jazz outscored the Suns 50-36 in the paint and were equal

PORTLAND, Ore. - LaMarcus Aldridges first basket of this season was a bit of a surprise, even to him.Aldridge hit a 3-pointer and Portlands All-Star forward went on to score 27 points in the Trail Blazers 106-89 season-opening victory over the injury-depleted Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.Aldridge, who has been working on his long-range shot, said Russell Westbrooks defence on the play gave him no choice but to shoot.I dont think anyone was thinking my first shot would be a long 3, so it was pretty cool, he said.The Thunder only suited up nine players. Most notably they were without reigning NBA MVP Kevin Durant, who had surgery for a fractured bone in his right foot this month and will likely be sidelined until December.Westbrook picked up the slack, with 38 points, including 26 in the first half.After trailing for much of the game, Portland pulled to an 89-80 lead with 7 minutes left on Damian Lillards 3-pointer. Nicolas Batum passed to Aldridge for the alley-oop dunk to put the Blazers up 93-83 and the Thunder could not catch up.It felt great, Aldridge said. Ive been waiting for this game for a while.Portland outscored the Thunder 31-12 in the fourth quarter. All five Blazers starters were in double figures.With 14 straight home-opening victories, the Blazers matched the Boston Celtics record set from 1979-92.Also sitting out the opener for the Thunder were guard Reggie Jackson (right ankle), forward Grant Jerrett (ankle surgery), guard Jeremy Lamb (lower back sprain), forward Mitch McGary (left foot fracture) and guard Anthony Morrow (left MCL sprain).Durant averaged 32 points last season when the Thunder went to the Western Conference finals, carrying the team when Westbrook was nursing a knee injury. The roles are reversed to start this season.I thought we played hard. Thats the only thing I can ask from the guys. Just compete, play hard and play for each other. They did that tonight but we made too many mistakes at the end of the game, Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.The Blazers opened with the exact same roster as last season, when they won 54 games and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.Despite being short-handed, Oklahoma City took a 13-5 lead on Westbrooks seven-point outburst.The Blazers pulled in front 35-34 in the second quarter on a 12-footer from Chris Kaman, picked up by the Blazers as a free agent in the off-season to help backup Robin Lopez.Westbrook hit five straight free throws to give the Thunder back the lead, and he dunked to close out the half make it 54-49 for Oklahoma City at the break.Westbrook pushed the lead to 71-65 midway through the third quarter with a layup and the free throw. But the Blazers never let the game get away from them and trailed just 77-75 going into the final quarter.Lillard, who had no points in the first half, hit a 3-pointer that gave Portland an 81-77 lead with 10:35 go.We put ourselves in position to win the game but we dont take moral victories around here and never will, Westbrook said. We just gotta find a way to close the game out better.TIP-INSTrail Blazers: The Blazers have a new floor at the Moda Center, thanks to a fan contest last spring that garnered 19,000 entries. The court is lighter within the 3-point arc and the keys are painted solid red. The Blazers pinwheel is still at centre court. ... Portland was without centre Meyers Leonard because of an upper respiratory infection.Thunder: Durant was on the court in his sweats in pregame warmups, his foot in a sturdy grey boot. He changed into a suit and watched the game from courtside. It was the first game against the Blazers he had missed in his career. ... Oklahoma Citys schedule has the Thunder travelling 6,300 total miles with two back-to-backs. ... As usual when the Thunder come to town, there were several Seattle SuperSonics jerseys in the crowd.BATUMS D: Batums defence of Westbrook in the fourth quarter helped boost the Blazers. Westbrook had just two of his points in the final period. Thats kind of been my job since I got here, to take the best player and to try to stop him, said the versatile forward. Batum finished with 16 points, five rebounds and six assists.QUOTING: Brooks on Westbrook: Russells our leader. Hes our leader on the court until Kevin comes back — and then weve got two leaders. I have no complaints how Russell played. Hes an emotional, competitive basketball player and hes going to lead us that way. I thought he was terrific tonight.LILLARDS SLOW START: Lillard finished with 10 points, seven in the fourth quarter alone. He and Wesley Matthews combined to make all five of their 3-point attempts in the period. I didnt want to force my rhythm on to the game, Lillard said. I knew there would come a point where I needed to attack or make a shot or make a play, and that time came.UP NEXTTrail Blazers: At Sacramento Kings on Friday night.Thunder: At Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night. Bill Hamid Jersey . Mladenovics quick hands at the net made the difference while Bencics inexperience in doubles showed. "We took a lot of pleasure," Mladenovic told Sport Plus television. "Its extremely difficult to play in such conditions, but our doubles team showed a lot of quality. Chris Pontius Jersey . CHAUNCEY BILLUPS (Pistons): Yes they got Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings in the off-season and Andre Drummond is a beast (teams are kicking themselves for passing on him - he rebounds and block shots every game - thats two more discernable and significant skills than most guys in his draft class), but dont for a second discount the impact of having a savvy veteran like Billups on your team. http://www.usasoccerauthority.com/zack-steffen-usa-jersey/ . Before that, Rousey needed a total 23 minutes and 26 seconds to take care of her last eight opponents - and one of those fights lasted 10 minutes and 58 seconds. Geoff Cameron Jersey . It was just time for him to make a big play. Nicolas Batum had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Wesley Matthews scored 18 points, and the Trail Blazers overcame poor-shooting nights by two of their best players in a 94-90 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday. Eric Lichaj Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins (3) - Surrendered a tough first goal against on a deflection through the body short side.SALT LAKE CITY -- Gordon Hayward had 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to lead a balanced Utah Jazz offence in a 109-86 win over the slumping Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night. Richard Jefferson scored 17 points and Diante Garrett had a career-high 15 points as the Jazz had seven players with 10 points or more in Utahs largest margin of victory this season. The Jazz shot 57.5 per cent from the field, the highest mark of any Phoenix opponent this season. Gerald Green had 17 points and rookie Archie Goodwin matched his career-best with 16 for the Suns. Playing their only road game in a nine-game stretch, the Suns have been looking to improve their playoff position. However, with a third straight loss, Phoenix leads Memphis by just one-half game the eighth and final Western Conference berth. Hayward, mired in a shooting slump (31 per cent in his previous 13 games), made plays all over the court in this one. Some fans chanted to put Hayward back in the game to get his first-ever triple-double. He just smiled as he watched the Jazz play the last 6:15 of the runaway win. Goran Dragic did not dress due to a sprained ankle and the Suns missed his playmaking abilities. Dragic twisted his right ankle in the third quarter in a loss to Minnesota on Tuesday and will have the injury re-evaluated on Thursday. Ish Smith had 13 points and five assists but the Jazz didnt respect his outside shooting and the defence wasnt spread like it would have been with Dragic. The Suns were 6 of 19 on 3-pointers. The Jazz turned a five-point lead into a 72-57 advantage thanks a 12-2 run and aa 5:08 stretch where they held the Suns without a field goal.dddddddddddd The Jazz broke it open in the fourth quarter as Garrett showed the skills he wished the Suns could have seen last season. Garrett was a late pickup for the Jazz this season after playing 19 games for Phoenix in 2012-13. Garrett had 11 points in the first five minutes of the fourth period to push the Jazz lead to 95-73. Derrick Favours scored 15 points in his second game back from a hip injury and Alec Burks scored 15 and Jeremy Evans had 11 in reserve roles. The Jazz outscored the Suns 50-36 in the paint and were equally adept from beyond the arc, making 9 of 18 attempts. After allowing a 35-point fourth quarter against the Timberwolves on Tuesday, the Suns defence was again porous against the Jazz. Utah players often beat their Phoenix counterparts down the courts and were one step quicker to the hoop on drives. Though the Jazz are buried near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, the starting lineup of Jefferson, Marvin Williams, Favors, Hayward and Trey Burke improved to 18-9 on the season. NOTES: Morris got a technical in the third quarter for yelling at official Zach Zarba after he was called for a foul on Jeffersons attempted dunk. ... The Suns largest lead was one point. ... The Jazz outscored the Suns in every quarter. ... Utahs previous biggest win this season was in a 122-101 victory at Sacramento on Dec. 11. ... Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek played for the Jazz from 1994-2000 and served as an assistant coach with Utah from 2011-13. His No. 14 jersey number hangs in the rafters. ' ' '