Portland will take both a 13-3 record against the Eastern Conference and a new, young weapon into its next game, Saturday at Charlotte.
Rookie guard Jerryd Bayless, taking advantage of his increased playing time in the wake of an injury to Steve Blake, burned New Jersey with 23 points in 25 minutes off the bench on Thursday, and the Blazers won 105-99. Bayless already had basically moved ahead of Sergio Rodriguez, at least in terms of getting minutes, even though the Spaniard got the starting nod against the Nets.
Rodriguez had a decent performance, with four points and four assists that kept Portland in the game. But it was Bayless who put the Blazers into another gear as they rallied in the second half and took control.
Portland coach Nate McMillan says he likes Bayless' aggressiveness and how the former Arizona Wildcats star uses his quickness to drive the lane. "We want our guys to attack the basket, and he's one of the fastest guys in the league," McMillan said. "And he did a good job of at least staying in front of (Nets guard) Devin Harris and making him shoot over the top."
Offensively, the Blazers tend to settle for jump shots and three-pointers or rely on All-Star Brandon Roy to make a play by himself. Bayless' ability to penetrate and finish or get to the free-throw line gives them a bit of another dimension, even though he is raw and on-and-off defensively.
It'll be interesting to see how the point-guard rotation evolves at Charlotte as the Blazers try to finish their four-game road trip at 2-2.
"Now I can play and be free," Bayless said after the New Jersey game. "It's just kind of a mental thing. Now I am out of the stranglehold."
TRAIL BLAZERS 105, NETS 99: The Blazers, missing Steve Blake (separated shoulder), rode their leader, Brandon Roy and rookie Jerryd Bayless to the victory.
Bayless went 6-of-9 from the field and 11-of-11 at the free-throw line. His driving slam dunk resulted in a three-point play that gave the Blazers a 95-89 lead with 3:20 remaining, and Portland never let the Nets make a serious run after that.
The Blazers trailed most of the game and were down by 11 in the third quarter. They won the fourth quarter 37-28.
Roy had 29 points, eight rebounds and five assists -- with no turnovers.
F LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 points for Portland, which out-rebounded the Nets by 11 and outscored them by 14 from the foul line.
The Nets (19-21) were coming off their most lopsided loss in nearly a year. The Blazers (24-15) were coming off their largest margin of defeat since Dec. 2, 2007. Portland lost 100-79 Wednesday at Philadelphia.
Vince Carter, who scored only four points in New Jersey's previous game, against Boston, played with a sprained right ankle and had 13 points. Harris, averaging 22.7 points coming into the game, scored 23.
