Trail Blazers 101, Knicks 79: Wesley Matthews matched his season high with 28 points and Portland took advantage of a hot start to beat visiting New York.

Matthews shot 6-for-15 from 3-point range to improve to 21-for-42 in the last four games for the Trail Blazers, who were without leading scorer and rebounder LaMarcus Aldridge (upper respiratory illness). Nicolas Batum shot a season-best 5-for-7 from long range and scored a season-high 17 points and third-year center Joel Freeland recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for Portland, which has won eight of nine.

The Knicks started without Amar'e Stoudemire and fellow starting forward Carmelo Anthony joined him on the bench for the second half as New York’s top two scorers and rebounders are reportedly nursing sore knees. Tim Hardaway Jr. finished with 17 points, Anthony had 13 and Cole Aldrich had 12 points and a career-high 19 rebounds for the Knicks, who lost their eighth in a row and 18th in the last 19 games.

Portland converted 10 of its first 11 field-goal attempts, including 6-of-7 from 3-point range, as it sped to a 27-13 lead. The Knicks got some help from reserves Quincy Acy, Shane Larkin and Pablo Prigioni, who helped pull New York within nine by the end of the first quarter, but they went quiet at the start of the second and Portland opened with a 9-0 run to nearly double its lead to 40-22.

Portland’s long-range efficiency kept the Knicks from making any serious pushes in the second quarter and the Trail Blazers entered the half 11-of-22 from beyond the arc and holding a 14-point lead. New York stayed within striking distance in the early minutes of the third quarter but then went scoreless for just over four minutes as Portland extended its lead to 21

GAME NOTEBOOK: Portland shot 16-for-36 from 3-point range to improve to 51-for-110 over the last three games. … Portland G Damian Lillard, who matched his season low with 11 points, was playing in his 196th consecutive game, which tied Buck Williams for the third-longest streak in franchise history. … Matthews and Batum are the 19th and 20th players to record their current season highs against the Knicks.