--Despite the loss, Portland players celebrated their berth in the postseason, especially Steve Blake, Joel Przybilla and Travis Outlaw, the only Blazers still around from the 2005-06 team that finished with an NBA-worst 21-61 record.
"Of course we would rather have won, but we're still in the playoffs," Przybilla said. "For guys who have been here for awhile, (and) through a lot of ups and downs, it's very gratifying for us to know we're going to get in the playoffs, and hopefully get there for a lot of years to come." --Rookie center Greg Oden got into immediate foul trouble after coming off the bench and finished with four points and no rebounds in 11 minutes. And he had little luck trying to slow down the 7-6 Yao.
"You learn how you have to play players differently," Oden said. "He's strong, he's big and he has a good touch. It definitely shows where I'm at."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I congratulated the guys for getting there, but our work is still not done. We have a chance for home-court (advantage in the first round of the playoffs), and we have to keep working at it." -- Portland coach Nate McMillan, whose team clinched a spot in the playoffs with Phoenix's loss to Dallas on Sunday.
