Brandon Roy scored 29 points, LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 and the unbeaten Portland Trail Blazers rallied to spoil the New York Knicks’ home opener tonight with a 100-95 victory.
Andre Miller had 19 points and 10 assists for the Trail Blazers, who improved to 3-0 by erasing a nine-point deficit in the final 5½ minutes. Aldridge hit the tiebreaking free throw with 25.5 seconds left, and both he and Miller made two apiece in the final half-minute.
Wilson Chandler finished with 22 points and 16 rebounds for the Knicks, who made only one field goal after taking a 92-83 lead with 5:31 remaining. Amare Stoudemire scored 18 points but turned it over six times in his home debut.
Raymond Felton, also making his Madison Square Garden debut with the Knicks, scored 16 points.
It was encouraging home start for the Knicks — until crunch time, when none of their new additions could find the basket.
New York’s lead was gone after Portland rallied to grab a 95-94 advantage on Miller’s 3-pointer with 2:08 to play. Felton’s foul shot tied it with 1:23 remaining, and it stayed that way until Aldridge was fouled on an offensive rebound and made one free throw for a 96-95 edge with 25.5 seconds left.
Nicolas Batum blocked Felton’s drive, Aldridge made another free throw, and the Knicks lost a chance to tie when a ball that was originally called out of bounds on Portland with 6.5 seconds left was overturned when instant replay showed it was off Stoudemire.
It was an all-too familiar finish for a team trying to move away from its awful recent past.
The Knicks have 10 new players on the roster as they try to return to the postseason for the first time since 2004. New York shares the league’s longest current playoff drought with Minnesota and is mired in a franchise-worst stretch of nine straight losing seasons.
Boxing ring announcer Michael Buffer introduced the Knicks during the elaborate pregame festivities, when it was emphasized these are the “new” New York Knicks.
The first quarter was the same ol’ story.
The Knicks surrendered 58 percent shooting, hit only 36 percent themselves, and trailed by as many as 10. The lead was still 10 midway though the second before reserve Chandler led a 16-3 run that gave New York a 42-39 lead on Felton’s 3-pointer with 1:54 remaining.
Chandler had 15 points and 12 rebounds in 17 minutes in the first half, which ended in a 44-all tie.
Notes: The Knicks fell to 33-32 in home openers. … Portland is 2-0 on a four-game trip that concludes with games Monday at Chicago and Tuesday at Milwaukee. … A Blazers spokesman confirmed the team won’t offer former No. 1 pick Greg Oden an extension on his rookie contract. The oft-injured center is still recovering from a fractured left patella that ended his season early last December.