Vandeweghe Scores 32 in Blazers’ 127-118 Win

After scoring 32 points, including 11 to pull the Portland Trail Blazers ahead in the fourth quarter, Kiki Vandeweghe preferred to talk about his team’s defense rather than his performance.

“What brings you back on the road is the same thing for every team: defense,” Vandeweghe said after a 127-118 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics Sunday night. “You make them take some tough shots and you get your fast break going.”

Vandeweghe also thought the absence of Sonic scoring leader Tom Chambers was the key to Portland being able to break the game open in the final period.

Chambers was ejected with 5:15 remaining in the first period. Chambers, averaging 25.1 points per game, departed with just four points after arguing with a referee over a foul call.

Xavier McDaniel picked up the slack for Chambers in the first half when he scored 25 of his 30 points, including 10 consecutive field goals. But Portland used a double-team defense to limit McDaniel to just 1-for-8 shooting in the second half.

“We came out looking for X in the second half,” Vandeweghe said. “We tried to double-team him as much as possible.”

Sonic Coach Bernie Bickerstaff thought it was not the double-team that affected McDaniel’s performance in the second half as much as the inability of the Sonic point guards to get him the ball.

“In the third quarter, we didn’t get anything done, we didn’t get Xavier the ball in the sets we called,” Bickerstaff said.

Bickerstaff also felt the loss of Chambers was a determining factor.

“Chambers was ready for this game and was aggressive early. We took 24 points out of our lineup, and (Maurice) Lucas had to play longer than we wanted him to,” Bickerstaff said.