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Portland tops Charlotte

Mar 6, 2011 - 8:05 AM Portland, OR (Sports Network) - LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points and the Portland Trail Blazers cruised to a 93-69 victory over Charlotte, beating the Bobcats for a fourth straight time.

As expected, Charlotte was without leading scorer Stephen Jackson, who aggravated a left hamstring injury in Friday's loss against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Portland feasted in his absence -- the 69 points, while not a season-low for the Bobcats, represented a season-low for a Blazers opponent.

"When you're missing your best scorer, it's going to be hard to put the ball in the basket," said Charlotte head coach Paul Silas.

Coasting down the stretch, Portland rested three of its five starters for the entire fourth quarter. Only Aldridge and point guard Andre Miller played as the Blazers led by as many as 26 points.

Patty Mills scored 12 points and Brandon Roy had 10, both off the bench, as Portland improved to 3-3 in its last six games.

Gerald Henderson had 16 points to lead the Bobcats, who finished 0-4 on their road trip. D.J. Augustin added 14 points in the loss and D.J. White scored 12 off the bench.

The Blazers trailed by one before ripping off 11 straight points in the third quarter to take the lead for good. Five different players scored during the surge, which was capped by Miller's free throws to make it 55-45.

Portland pushed its lead to 15 on a Mills three-pointer that made it 65-50, finishing off a larger run of 21-5. The Blazers led 65-52 entering the fourth, which Mills opened by hitting a three.

It was never closer than 13 the rest of the way and Portland led by as many as 26 down the stretch.

Charlotte had a 16-15 lead after a tight first quarter, but the Blazers battled back with a big run to end the second.

They scored 12 of the final 13 points in the first half, turning a six-point deficit with 4:18 remaining into a 40-35 lead at intermission. Aldridge and Miller both scored four points during the stretch and Wesley Matthews buried a three in the final second to cap it.

"Our defense was a little bit ahead of our offense," said Portland center Marcus Camby. "We weren't knocking down shots. But the second half we made the adjustments and our shooters were putting the ball in the hole."

Game Notes

The Bobcats are traveling home for three straight games starting against the Clippers on Monday, then they'll head back out on the road for four in a row...Portland will head out on a four-game road trip that starts Monday in Orlando.