By MARC BERMAN
PORTLAND â The fans at the Rose Garden resoundly booed Zach Randolph in his homecoming in pregame introductions. That could not stop Randolph from having a big game.
But during this nightmare season, even Randolph could not extract a tiny shred of vindication despite his 25 points, 13 rebounds on 11 of 23 shooting. With Jamal Crawford stinking out the Rose Garden in missing his final 11 shots, including a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 15 seconds left, the Blazers rallied to top the Knicks in overtime, 94-88 at the raucous Rose Garden.
Even one solitary feel-good night for Randolph and the Knicks got dashed in the end during a season in which they have struggled massively with him while the Blazers have prospered so dramatically without him. The Knicks blew a 15-point third-quarter lead.
The Knicks remained winless out West this season â 0-8 and 0-4 on this trip that finishes up tonight in Seattle. The Knicks are a season-worst 18 games below .500 at 14-32.
Crawford finished with 13 points on a dreadful 6 of 26 shooting. David Lee, starting in place of Curry, was huge with 14 points and 15 boards.
Crawford was hard on himself in the locker room afterward. “I take responsibility for this one,” Crawford said. “I was awful. I picked the wrong time to have the worst game of my career – on national television. I let the team down.”
Newly minted All-Star Brandon Roy, ironically great friends with his Seattle counterpart Crawford, posted his first career triple double at 20 points 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
The Knicks were playing without Eddy Curry and Quentin Richardson, out with the flu. With Stephon Marbury out indefinitely, that means the Knicks went without 3/5 of their normal starting lineup. The Knicks are 5-6 since Marbury shut it down.
Channing Frye, who took shots at the Knicks, Thomas and the New York media before the game, had a quiet night â 0 for 3, 2 points in 14 minutes.
Virtually every time Randolph touched the ball he got booed and hoisted a jumper in the first half. “It was surprising,” Randolph said.
Randolph took 11 shots in the half and passed the ball in the frontcourt area just twice, and not until early in the second quarter.
âAnytime a player is traded theyâre coming back trying to prove something,ââ Portland coach Nate McMillan said. âI wouldnât expect anything less than that. LaMarcus (Aldridge) is trying to prove something too.ââ
In overtime, Randolph, off a pick-and-roll with Crawford, drilled an open 18-footer to give the Knicks an 85-83 lead. But they couldnât hold it. Nate Robinson committed a horrendous turnover, throwing the ball to the corner out of bounds. Travis Outlaw followed with a driving dunk, giving the Blazers an 86-85 lead with 2:11 left in OT they wouldnât relinquish.
Randolph had a chance to put the Knicks into the lead but, missed wildly on a spin move in the post with 1:25 left. Jarret Jack then flew to the basket for a power layup and 88-85 Blazersâ lead. Robinson came back to cut it to 88-87 with a runner in the lane over Roy but couldnât come closer.
The Knicks had the lead for the second, third and most of the fourth quarter. But they lost it at the end of regulation. Up 81-79, Randolph had a chance to ice it with 50 seconds left, Randolph missed a 3-pointer with the shotclock expiring. But Roy missed a jumper and Randolph got the rebound with 35 seconds left.
Frigid Crawford then missed his eighth straight shot from the right wing and the Blazers rebounded with 17 seconds left.
After a timeout, Outlaw, off a dish from Roy, sank a 18-footer to tie the score at 81 with 5.6 seconds left. Crawford missed his ninth straight shot at the buzzer, back-ironing a 3-pointer to bring on overtime.
The Knicks took a 49-38 lead at halftime, with gutty performances by David Lee, and productive, if occasionally selfish basketball from Randolph.
At one juncture Randolph drilled five straight shots and finished 6 of 11 for 13 points. He even bagged a 3-pointer from up top in the second quarter.
The Knicks were also fortunate, going 26 straight minutes without a defensive foul called against them. The Blazers didnât have a free throw in the second and third quarters.
After falling behind 14-6 after four minutes, the Knicks went on a 26-10 splurge to take a 32-24 lead. The Knicks took their first lead at 18-17 on Randolphâs 3-pointer with 2:43 left in the half. Randolph hit two consecutive bombs early in the third to build the Knicks lead to 57-42. That gave Randolph 19 points on 8 of 14 shooting.
But the Blazers roared back and went on a 19-4 run, capped by Royâs 3-pointer and driving dunk after blowing past a picked Jamal Crawford. That got the Blazers tied at 61-61 with 4:53 left in the third quarter.
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After Knicks were officially shut out of having an All-Star, Thomas said, âI think we have some guys on the roster who could be.ââ Asked to name them, Thomas said, âWhen theyâre picked, Iâll let you know.âââ¦Renaldo Balkman took a verbal shot at Lakersâ Sasha Vujacic, accusing him of flopping after getting hit in the jaw by Balkman in L.A. while the Knicks forward looked to drive. Balkman drew a one-game suspension, returning last night. âI thought it was (unfair),ââ Balkman said. âHe flopped a little bit. I donât think I hit him that hard. I think he exaggerated a lot. Heâs hit, all of a sudden heâs hurt, then he goes back out and gets his career high. That tells you a lot right there.ââ Balkman likely will appeal to recoup the moneyâ¦
