Trail Blazers 99, Bulls 89: LaMarcus Aldridge scored 28 points and Portland picked up a rare road victory by routing Chicago.
Rookie Damian Lillard added 24 points and seven assists and J.J. Hickson pulled down 21 rebounds as the Trail Blazers halted a two-game skid and won for only the second time in their last 12 games away from home.
Joakim Noah scored 18 points and Carlos Boozer had 16 and 11 rebounds for the Bulls, who lost for the sixth time in eight games to drop into a tie with Boston for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Portland took control at the outset of the second quarter, scoring 14 unanswered points to forge ahead 34-21 and extending the lead to 19 before settling for a 52-37 lead at halftime.
Another burst to start the third quarter broke the game open. Lillard scored nine points in an 18-8 run as the Blazers opened a 25-point lead midway through the third and never let Chicago get the deficit under double digits.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews each scored 11 points and hit three 3-pointers as Portland went 10-of-21 from behind the arc. ... Bulls reserve F Taj Gibson had 14 points and nine rebounds in his return from a 10-game injury absence. ... Bulls G Kirk Hinrich also returned from injury but scored only two points on 1-for-7 shooting.
Portland | Chicago | |
LaMarcus Aldridge 28 | Scoring | Joakim Noah 18 |
Damian Lillard 7 | Assists | Nate Robinson 9 |
J.J. Hickson 21 | Rebounds | Carlos Boozer 11 |
Nicolas Batum 2 | Free Throws Made | Joakim Noah 4 |
Nicolas Batum 3 | Steals | Carlos Boozer 2 |
LaMarcus Aldridge 2 | Blocks | Marco Belinelli 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Portland | 99 | 48.8 | 10-21 | 7-10 | 19 | 45 | 5 | 4 | 14 |
Chicago | 89 | 43.8 | 4-14 | 7-11 | 30 | 41 | 4 | 8 | 8 |