"Sometimes you just need the obvious. For the Blazers, coming off a disappointing 2-4 road trip that ended with a defeat to a bad Detroit team, a little dose of Sacramento -- young, short-handed and prone to bad shot selection -- was just what they needed.

Portland won 101-89. The game wasn't exactly a masterpiece, and while you would have hoped the Blazers could have stretched the lead to where coach Nate McMillan could sit his starters for the entire fourth quarter, the win itself was more important.

The star of the win was obviously Jamal Crawford (26 points, five assists). But the game also had two positive developments at a key position for Portland: power forward."