Streak over, Blazers anxious to start a new one

If the Portland Trail Blazers were upset about their 13-game winning streak coming to a close Monday night at EnergySolutions Arena, they weren't really showing it. The players seemed in pretty good spirits after their 111-101 New Year's Eve loss to the Utah Jazz.

Perhaps the Blazers, the youngest team in NBA history, didn't really comprehend their accomplishment. Or maybe they just realized, even at their young ages, that you can't win them all.

"When was the last time an NBA team went 82-0?" rhetorically asked Blazer forward Channing Frye.

The Blazers' streak was the longest in the league this season and the second longest in Portland's storied franchise history, trailing only 16 wins in a row during the 1990-91 season.

"What streak?" was the tongue-in-cheek reply of acting head coach Dean Demopoulous when asked about his team's first loss in almost a month.

"It's tough to see the streak end," said Portland guard Brandon Roy. "It was a great run, but it's over with. Now we've kind of gotten a taste of success, so we want to continue. ... But we've got to get over it. It's the NBA and we've got another game in a-day-and-a-half." Second-year forward LeMarcus Aldridge seemed like the Blazer who most wanted to see the winning continue. The 22-year-old torched the Jazz for a career-high 36 points on 12-of-17 from the field and 12-of-14 from the foul line.

"(Aldridge) was aggressive, and we went to him a lot because he had his game going, and I thought it was right thing to do," said Demopoulous, an assistant coach filling in for Nate McMillan who was in North Carolina for his mother-in-law's funeral.

"I just felt confident and I got a good rhythm in shootaround and it felt good," said Aldridge.

Aldridge, who missed five games during the winning streak due to injury including two against the Jazz, was forced to take on more of the offensive role because Roy was in early foul trouble. Roy, last year's Rookie of the Year, eventually fouled out of the game with 17 points.

"(Aldridge) is just growing into this thing. He's just scratching the surface, so he's got a long way to go," said Demopoulous. "But he's just a super young man with super ability. He's a fine player today, but he's going to be a much better one tomorrow."

The scary thing for NBA opponents is that the same can be said for the entire franchise. Portland figures to continue to get better with experience. The Blazers will add No. 1 overall draft pick Greg Oden next season, a potentially dominating 7-foot center, after he recovers from knee surgery.

"A lot of good things are going to happen for this group of guys," said Demopoulous. "I don't anticipate any letdown at all."

Added Roy, "The streak was great, but how we bounce back is going to be the telling thing about this team."

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E-mail: lojo@desnews.com