Blazers Win 12th Straight

[December 29, 2007]  PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Brandon Roy scored 22 points despite not playing the second quarter, and the Portland Trail Blazers got their league-leading 12th straight victory Friday night by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-98.

The streak matches Portland's best run since winning 12 in a row during the 2001-02 season, the team's second-longest stretch. Portland's longest streak was 16 games in the 1990-91 season.

Al Jefferson had 22 points for Minnesota, which has the league's worst record at 4-24. The Timberwolves fell to 1-14 on the road.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Blazers. Jarrett Jack added 14 points and was among six Blazers in double figures.

Portland, the youngest team in the NBA, started its streak with a Dec. 3 victory at Memphis after going 5-12 to start the season. Nine of the team's 12 wins have come at the Rose Garden, where the Blazers are 14-3 overall.

Portland was coming off an 89-79 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Christmas. The Timberwolves were defeated 105-101 by Golden State on Wednesday night.

Portland led by as many a nine points early, but the Timberwolves went ahead briefly in the second quarter, when Antoine Walker's layup made it 31-30.

Jack put Portland back ahead 44-42 with a pair of free throws. That was the start of a 13-4 run to make it 55-46 at the half.

Roy, last season's Rookie of the Year who was averaging 23 points a game during the streak, had a pair of fouls but did not appear to be injured when he sat the entire second quarter. He returned to start the second half.

Minnesota closed the gap early in the second half, closing to 60-59 on Ryan Gomes' 3-pointer. Gomes finished with 16 points, while Rashad McCants had 21.

Portland went up 78-69 on Jack's layup at the end of the third quarter. Roy opened the fourth with six straight points, kicking off an 11-3 run that ended when his jumper made it 89-72 as the game fell out of reach for the Timberwolves.

Roy scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, prompting fans to chant "M-V-P! M-V-P!" He has scored 20-plus points in nine of the Blazers' games during the streak, and he has been named the NBA's player of the week twice during the span.

The Blazers have won four straight against the Timberwolves at the Rose Garden.

Notes:@ Minnesota guard Sebastian Telfair was drafted out of high school by the Trail Blazers with the 13th overall pick in the 2004 draft. ... The Trail Blazers will honor team founder Harry Glickman on Sunday when they host the Philadelphia 76ers. Glickman retired in 1987. ... Minnesota forward Craig Smith was knocked by Aldridge in the first half and had to leave the court because he was bleeding. When he returned to the game he had a bandage alongside his right eye.

[Associated Press; By ANNE M. PETERSON]

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