Wizards 103 - 116 Trail Blazers
Final
  for this game

Trail Blazers down Wizards

Mar 21, 2014 - 7:12 AM Portland, OR (SportsNetwork.com) - Damian Lillard tallied 23 points and 10 assists as the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers clipped the Washington Wizards, 116-103, on Thursday from Moda Center.

Wesley Matthews dropped a game-high 28 points for Portland, which was without All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (back) for the third straight tilt. Dorell Wright chimed in with 15 points and Nicolas Batum stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.

"I think when we're moving the ball like we did today and how we did in the beginning of the year ... you never know who is going to shoot the ball," said Wright. "We have a lot of unselfish guys."

Batum has at least eight boards in 10-of-11 games this month.

Washington fell despite 24 points and 14 assists from John Wall, who shot 5- of-10 from 3-point range. Bradley Beal and Drew Gooden donated 18 points apiece in Washington's second straight setback.

"They just came out hitting shots," said Wall. "We know they're a team that can get hot from time to time. They made some contested shots."

Wall's free throws at 3:30 of the first quarter capped a 9-0 Washington run. Wall had 13 in the frame and the visitors led 28-23 after 12 minutes.

The margin reached eight on Beal's driving layup early in the second, and Washington stayed in front until Robin Lopez scored consecutive buckets in the paint in the final minute to tie it at 51-apiece. Lillard added two free throws 0.5 seconds before the halftime buzzer for a two-point Blazers lead.

Portland hit four of its first five shots of the third, including a Matthews' triple that pushed the spread to 64-53 at 10:02. The Blazers finished the frame on a 7-0 run and carried an 86-73 into the final stanza.

Thomas Robinson's slam set the tone for Portland in the fourth. The lead never dipped back into single digits the rest of the way.

Game Notes

Portland has won three of four ... The Blazers open a five-game Eastern Conference road trip in Charlotte on Saturday ... Trevor Ariza hit 3-of-4 from the arc for 15 points, while Trevor Booker scored 10 for Washington ... Both teams had 43 rebounds.






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