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Allen leads balanced attack, Celtics top Blazers

Jan 28, 2011 - 8:31 AM Portland, OR (Sports Network) - Ray Allen led a balanced attack with 18 points, as the Boston Celtics kicked off a four-game western road trip with an 88-78 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden.

Paul Pierce added 17 points for the Celtics, who have won two in a row and seven of eight overall.

Rajon Rondo tallied 11 points, six rebounds and five assists for Boston, which got 10 points, nine boards and nine assists from Kevin Garnett. Kendrick Perkins donated 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench.

"[Portland] played extremely hard tonight, and you knew they would (by) reading the papers about how physical they were going to be with us," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said. "When we read that we actually like it. That means [the game] is going to be played our way."

LaMarcus Aldridge recorded a double-double with 17 points and 16 boards for the Blazers, who have dropped two straight since a five-game winning streak.

Andre Miller had 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds for Portland, which got 12 points and seven boards from Wesley Matthews. Rudy Fernandez added 11 points and five assists off the bench.

Boston seemed to put the game away with a 10-2 run to start the fourth. Von Wafer's runner made it 74-60 with 8:14 to play.

Down 80-66 with 2:16 to go, Portland used the long ball to make things very interesting.

Matthews' layup and three-pointer cut the gap to nine, 80-71. After Glen Davis made 1-of-2 from the line, Matthews drained another shot from beyond the arc.

Fernandez's trey following Rondo's free throw cut the gap to 82-77 with 48.9 seconds left. Marquis Daniels then missed two at the line for Boston, but Garnett came down with a big offensive rebound. Davis capitalized with two foul shots with 33.6 ticks remaining to make it 84-77.

Portland's fate was sealed following Matthews' missed layup and two Garnett free throws.

"Their execution was really good," Blazers head coach Nate McMillan said. "When you have that many options, playing that way and knowing how to win, it's going to be a tough game."

Boston held a 21-18 lead after 12 minutes of action and took a 41-37 margin into the break.

Allen's three-pointer and layup gave the Celtics a 62-52 edge with under 3 1/2 minutes to go in the third period.

Portland, though, responded with six straight points before Perkins scored on a layup to make it 64-58 heading to the fourth.

Game Notes

The Celtics have won four straight and 11 of 12 against the Blazers, including a 99-95 win in Boston back on December 1...Boston made 46.9 percent of its shots, while Portland shot 36.7 percent from the field...The Celtics went 23- of-33 from the foul line, but turned the ball over 21 times.