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Aldridge, Portland hang on to beat Golden State

Dec 19, 2010 - 7:38 AM Portland, OR (Sports Network) - LaMarcus Aldridge scored 17 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, and Portland escaped a Monta Ellis missed jumper at the buzzer to beat Golden State, 96-95, at the Rose Garden.

Andre Miller added 17 points, eight assists and four steals for the Trail Blazers, who have posted back-to-back wins after a three-game skid. They've won five straight at home.

Ellis had 26 points, but also accounted for seven of his team's 18 turnovers. Reggie Williams tallied 16 points for the Warriors, who nearly rallied from a 15-point deficit in the final quarter, but lost for the eighth time in nine games.

A jumper from Williams had the visitors within 95-93 with 2:02 left, and Golden State had a chance to move ahead after Dante Cunningham blew a layup. However, Vladimir Radmanovic's three-ball from the right wing caromed in and out of the hoop.

Aldridge canned 1-of-2 foul shots with 1:16 left for a three-point margin, and then Rodney Carney missed a running bank shot inside of a minute. A turnover from Wesley Matthews led to a pair of made free throws from Ellis with 33.5 seconds left.

After Matthews and Aldridge missed jumpers, the Warriors had one final chance. Williams grabbed the rebound and Golden State called timeout with eight seconds left.

Radmanovic set a crushing screen for Ellis, but his fall away jumper from right of the foul line hit off the heel of the rim and bounced away as time expired.

"He had it right there and lined up, but it didn't go in." Warriors coach Keith Smart said. "We had a ton of stops after the two-minute mark to get us back in the basketball game."

"[We were expecting] some type of ball screen or some back screen," said Aldridge. "We were trying to switch everything. He nailed Wesley so I just stepped up and tried to block it. I had just missed my game winner so I didn't want him to make his."

The Blazers held a 21-18 lead after one quarter, during which the Warriors shot just 30 percent. Portland upped that advantage to 51-42 at the half behind 55 percent shooting.

A dunk by Matthews widened the lead to 69-54 with four minutes left in the third and it was 74-65 going to the fourth. A three-pointer from Patrick Mills moved the difference back to 15 at 86-71 with 7:54 left.

Game Notes

Golden State's Dan Gadzuric left the game with a strained left groin...the Blazers were missing Marcus Camby (right shoulder), Brandon Roy (left knee) and Joel Przybilla (left ankle)...David Lee had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Golden State.