National Basketball Association Capsules for Sunday

Dec 1, 2008 - 4:59 AM PORTLAND 96, DETROIT 85

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AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (Ticker) -- LaMarcus Aldridge scored 27 points and Brandon Roy added 19 as the Portland Trail Blazers pulled away in the fourth quarter to earn a 96-85 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

Roy scored five points and Aldridge chipped in four during an 18-3 run over a six-minute span in the fourth quarter. Rookie Greg Oden, who scored 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, capped the spurt with a pair of free throws with 2:28 left that put the Blazers on top, 93-80.

Portland shot 52 percent (36-of-69) from the floor, including 7-of-17 from beyond the arc en route to its fourth consecutive win.

Detroit guard Allen Iverson returned to the starting lineup after a one-game banishment to the bench for missing practice and finished 2-of-9 from the floor for nine points.

CHICAGO 103, PHILADELPHIA 92

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PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Ben Gordon scored 21 points and rookie Derrick Rose had a double-double to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 103-92 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Gordon made three 3-pointers and added six rebounds and four assists. Rose had 18 points and 10 assists while Drew Gooden had 20 points and 12 rebounds.

The Bulls trailed 55-52 at the half, but put the game away in the third quarter by outscoring the 76ers, 31-11.

Chicago opened the quarter with a basket by Gooden and a pair of 3-pointers by Gordon, the second capped a 17-7 run to give the Bulls a 69-60 lead with 5:40 to go. Rose added four points in the run.

Larry Hughes hit a 3-pointer with 1:18 left in the third to extend the Chicago lead to 81-66. An alley-oop dunk by Rose with 32 seconds left made it 83-66 after three.

Elton Brand scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Philadelphia, which has dropped four straight.

DENVER 104, HOUSTON 94

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DENVER (Ticker) -- Chauncey Billups scored 24 of his 28 points in the second half and added 10 assists to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 104-94 win over the Houston Rockets.

Nene added 17 points and 10 rebounds and J.R. Smith provided a spark off the bench with 19 points, including five 3-pointers, as the Nuggets claimed their fourth win in their last five games.

Clinging to a 48-44 lead at the half, Denver came out strong after the break, pushing the lead to 72-58 with 6:05 left in the period. Billups scored 13 points during the spurt, capped off by a pair of 3-pointers.

Yao Ming collected 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, who were without guard Tracy McGrady for the third straight game due to a sore left knee.

NEW JERSEY 117, PHOENIX 109

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PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Devin Harris scored 47 points and the New Jersey Nets wrapped up a successful road trip with a 117-109 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Harris was 14-of-25 from the field and 17-of-17 from the free-throw line. He added seven rebounds and eight assists to lead the Nets to their first win in Phoenix since March 13, 1993. New Jersey went 3-1 on its four-game road trip, including a win at Utah on Satutrday.

The Suns started hot, scoring a season-high 35 points in the first quarter to take an 11-point lead. However, they went cold down the stretch, especially after Amare Stoudemire was ejected after picking up his second technical foul with 3:24 to play.

Phoenix led, 100-98, when Stoudemire was ejected. But New Jersey went on a 12-2 run to take control of the game.

LA LAKERS 112, TORONTO 99

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LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Pau Gasol finished with 24 points and nine rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors, 112-99, to improve their record to an NBA-best 14-1.

Kobe Bryant scored 21 of his 23 points in the first half and added a season-high seven assists as Los Angeles pulled away early in the final quarter. Nursing an injured right foot, Andrew Bynum had 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lakers moved within two wins of matching their best start in franchise history, set when they went 16-1 to open the 2001-02 campaign.

Bryant missed out on becoming the youngest player to reach 22,000 career points at 30 years, 99 days of age, finishing 15 points shy of the feat. Wilt Chamberlain currently holds the record, achieving it in 30 years, 100 days.