Trail Blazers 105, Knicks 90: Rookie Damian Lillard had 26 points and 10 assists and host Portland sent short-handed New York to its third straight defeat.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 points and 10 rebounds despite battling a migraine and J.J. Hickson also had a double-double with 12 points and 16 boards as the Trail Blazers halted a two-game skid and pulled within three games of eighth place in the West.
J.R. Smith scored 33 points and sparked a brief fourth-quarter rally by the Knicks, who were playing without star forward Carmelo Anthony and starting center Tyson Chandler - both out with knee injuries.
Still, despite starting a front line of Kurt Thomas, Kenyon Martin and Chris Copeland, New York build a 13-point second-quarter lead and was ahead by 10 until Portland ended the first half on a 13-0 run to go ahead 51-48 at the break.
The Trail Blazers extended the lead to 78-62 after three, but Smith ignited a fourth-quarter comeback by hitting three 3-pointers and scoring 11 straight points to cut the deficit to 80-76 with just under eight minutes left. Portland countered with a 15-2 burst, getting a pair of 3-pointers from Lillard and five points from Nicolas Batum to break it open.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Anthony had his ailing right knee drained in New York on Thursday and was listed as questionable for Sunday's matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers. Chander (left knee contusion) was walking with a noticeable limp Thursday and his status for Sunday's game is unclear. ... Lillard became the fastest player to reach 1,200 points and 400 assists since Allen Iverson in the 1996-97 season. ... Knicks PG Raymond Felton, who had a disastrous stint with Portland last season amid controversy about his conditioning and coachability, was booed heavily and finished with 11 points.
New York | Portland | |
JR Smith 33 | Scoring | Damian Lillard 26 |
Pablo Prigioni 5 | Assists | Damian Lillard 10 |
Marcus Camby 10 | Rebounds | J.J. Hickson 16 |
JR Smith 7 | Free Throws Made | LaMarcus Aldridge 6 |
Pablo Prigioni 4 | Steals | Nicolas Batum 2 |
Kenyon Martin 1 | Blocks | LaMarcus Aldridge 5 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
New York | 90 | 43.9 | 7-25 | 11-17 | 20 | 40 | 2 | 10 | 12 |
Portland | 105 | 51.3 | 10-28 | 15-21 | 24 | 44 | 6 | 8 | 14 |