Trail Blazers End Futility on Road

As the ball rolled upcourt and the final horn sounded, smiles appeared on the faces of a couple of Portland Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers became the last NBA team to win on the road this season in their 11th try, using their defense and rebounding in the fourth quarter to defeat the New Jersey Nets, 91-87, Monday night at East Rutherford, N.J.

Rasheed Wallace scored 16 points and Zach Randolph had 14 points and 13 rebounds for Portland, which outrebounded the Nets, 44-28, in beating them for the second time this season.

“Hopefully once you get one, the others are a little easier,” said Portland Coach Maurice Cheeks, who constantly reminded his team about the streak during timeouts. “This was one we needed desperately.”

Richard Jefferson had 24 points and Kenyon Martin added 19 for New Jersey, which had a three-game overall winning streak and a six-game home streak snapped. The loss also was only the third in 12 games for the Nets.

Seattle 87, Houston 86 -- Vladimir Radmanovic sank a pair of three-point shots down the stretch and Ray Allen made a pressure free throw with four seconds left to lead the SuperSonics at Houston. Allen led Seattle with 28 points and his final free throw made Steve Francis’ three-pointer at the buzzer meaningless. Yao Ming had 15 points for Houston.

Detroit 108, New Orleans 99 -- Chauncey Billups had 31 points at Auburn Hills, Mich. David Wesley had 22 points for the Hornets, who lost their fourth straight road game.

Indiana 94, Memphis 86 -- Jermaine O’Neal had 20 points and 13 rebounds at Indianapolis to help the Pacers end a two-game losing streak and hand the Grizzlies their sixth straight loss. Pau Gasol led Memphis with 20 points.

Utah 106, Philadelphia 97 -- Matt Harpring scored 19 points at Salt Lake City to lead a victory over his former team. Glenn Robinson had 25 points for the 76ers, who lost their third in a row.

Miami 90, Chicago 83 -- Brian Grant scored 12 of his 18 points in the third quarter as the Heat overcame a 17-point, first-quarter deficit at Chicago. Lamar Odom had 25 points and 13 rebounds for the Heat. Jerome Williams had 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Bulls.

Boston 100, Golden State 91 -- Paul Pierce led six Celtics in double figures with 21 points in a victory at Oakland. Jason Richardson had 17 points for the Warriors.