Trail Blazers lose Greg Oden to knee injury, beat Rockets 90-89

Blazers lose Oden, beat Rockets

PORTLAND, Ore. — Brandon Roy had 28 points and scored the winning basket to help Portland beat Houston 90-89 on Saturday night after the Trail Blazers lost center Greg Oden to a probable season-ending knee injury.

Roy scored on a driving layup with 3.2 seconds left, and Houston’s Aaron Brooks missed on the other end to give Portland a victory after the devastating loss of Oden to a freak injury in the first quarter.

Oden fractured his left kneecap while jumping to defend Brooks. The former No. 1 draft pick was carried off the floor on a stretcher. He will undergo surgery and is expected to miss the rest of the season, Blazers spokeswoman Cheri Hanson said.

Oden collapsed to the floor clutching his knee and grimacing in pain midway through the first quarter. Oden’s knee did not appear to make any contact with Brooks. Play was stopped for 7 minutes while the 7-footer was tended to. He was wheeled from the court and underwent an MRI.

Andre Miller had 16 of his 24 points in the third quarter for the Blazers, who rallied from a 15-point deficit to snap a three-game losing streak. Jerry Bayless had 13 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge added 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Carl Landry led Houston with 23 points and Luis Scola had 21. The Rockets came into the game with a three-game road winning streak and they led 87-86 with 37 seconds left after Landry made two free throws.

Roy answered with a fadeaway jumper from the free-throw line to put the Blazers up, but Scola gave the Rockets back the lead with 9.1 seconds on a 20-footer. Roy took the ball at the top of the key and drove down the middle for winning basket.

Portland was already short-handed going into the game, with guard-forward Rudy Fernandez sitting out with a back injury and Travis Outlaw sidelibed by a broken foot.

After Oden went out, Houston opened up a 48-36 led in the second quarter. The Blazers went on a 9-0 run to close the gap to three at halftime. The Rockets scored the first 12 points of the third quarter, but Steve Blake made a 3-pointer and Miller scored 10 of Portland’s next 12 points to cut the lead to 61-60. The Blazers took a 70-69 lead in the fourth on a pullup jumper by Jerryd Bayless. Budinger tied it at 74 with a 3-pointer for the Rockets.

The road ahead looks rocky for Portland, which embarks on a four-game Eastern Conference road swing Monday with only nine healthy players and without coach Nate McMillan, who will undergo surgery Monday to repair a ruptured Achilles’ tendon. McMillan was injured while participating in practice for the short-handed Blazers. Assistant Dean Demopoulos will coach the team during the trip.

NOTES: Brooks had just six points and five assists after averaging 22.6 points and 5.3 assists over his last three games. Brooks torched the Blazers with 28 points and eight assists in a 111-107 win Oct. 31. … Portland beat the Rockets 96-87 on opening night. … Portland’s Joel Przybilla had a game-high 12 rebounds.