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Trail Blazers Stumble In Second Preseason Game

A day after turning in one of the more electric performances in recent memory, the Portland Trail Blazers (1-1) stumbled through a forgettable 110-96 loss to the Golden State Warriors (1-1) in front of a crowd of 17,847 at the Rose Garden.

Portland center Greg Oden, the first pick of the 2007 draft, scored 14 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge also scored 14 points for the Blazers while Jerryd Bayless had 13.

Kelenna Azubuike, who didn't play during the first half, hit 7 of 10 shots during the second half as the Warriors rallied from a four-point halftime deficit.

Golden State, which trailed 78-77 after three quarters, outscored Portland 33-17 during the fourth quarter to pull away. Azubuike scored 11 points during the fourth quarter. Wright scored 10 of his 16 points during the second half, and tied a team high with five rebounds. Corey Maggette added 15 points for Golden State while Andris Biedrins scored 13.

Portland guard Rudy Fernandez played 36 minutes before leaving the game late in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury.

“I stepped on Sergio (when he sprained his left ankle),” said Fernandez. “It was my fault. It’s not serious. Maybe tomorrow a little treatment. Tomorrow see how it feels. Now I feel good. It was the first time to play back-to-back, ever.”

Fernandez filled up the stat sheet before rolling his ankle, finishing with 15 points, seven steals and six assists.

Portland was nowhere near as sharp against Golden State as it was during Tuesday's preseason opener, a 110-81 win over Sacramento in which the Blazers had an array of dunks and highlight-reel passes.

Portland committed 25 turnovers and shot just 36.9 percent from the field against the Warriors.

“We were too loose with the ball,” said Nate McMillan. “We made 27 turnovers and they scored 29 points off them. And they also got 60 points in the paint. You can’t win many games with numbers like that. I guess we can treat this as a teaching tape on how to improve our defensive intensity and show a little more patience.”

Portland took a 53-49 halftime lead during a ragged first half. Oden did most of his damage during the first half, scoring 10 points while grabbing nine rebounds. Golden State raced to a 76-66 lead, but the Blazers came alive during the final three minutes of the quarter, outscoring the Warriors 12-1 to take a 78-77 lead into the fourth quarter.

Golden State took command of the game early in the fourth quarter, as the Warriors went on a 15-2 run to establish a 94-83 lead with seven minutes remaining.

Prior to the game, the Trail Blazers announced that guard Martell Webster suffered a left foot injury during Tuesday's game against Sacramento. An MRI confirmed that Webster has a stress fracture in the fifth metatarsal. The team said it would announce a course of treatment, which could include surgery, and a timetable for Webster's return Thursday. Joining Webster as inactive for Wednesday's game were Steve Blake (hamstring) and Channing Frye (ankle), while guard Brandon Roy was rested and didn't play.

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