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Aldridge, Miller pace Portland in win over Clips

Jan 21, 2011 - 8:07 AM Portland, OR (Sports Network) - LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews both finished with 28 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers used a late surge to top the Los Angeles Clippers, 108-93, at the Rose Garden.

Rudy Fernandez added 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field while Andre Miller contributed 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Portland, which has won four straight.

The Trail Blazers have won five straight and nine of their last ten against the Clippers.

"You've got to win in any way," said Matthews. "Pretty wins, ugly wins, tough wins. [The Clippers] are a lot better then their record shows and they've got a lot of talent. We were able to in the dog fight."

Eric Gordon knocked down 7-of-11 from beyond the arc to finish with 35 points while Blake Griffin added 20 points and 18 rebounds for the Clippers, who had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Portland took an 84-71 lead into the fourth quarter, however, a Gordon three- pointer with 6:07 remaining capped a 16-6 run that trimmed the Blazers' advantage down to 90-87.

After the teams traded baskets, Matthews' driving layup at 4:22 started a 16-4 Portland run to put the game away for good. Fernandez highlighted the run with a short layup and running jumper that he converted into a three-point play with 1:03 remaining.

Gordon led the Clippers with 11 points, but Los Angeles shot only 39.1 percent from the field in the fourth quarter as the Blazers held on down the stretch.

"I thought the Blazers executed much better than we did, in the second half especially," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. "Our defense was not good enough or tough enough."

Los Angeles opened the game with a 14-2 run, Davis scored seven in the spurt, however, the Blazers slowly chipped away and trailed 27-23 after the opening 12 minutes.

Portland shot 63.6 percent from the field in the second quarter, including ending the stanza on a 13-5 run, and the Blazers took a 55-50 lead into the break.

Gordon led the Clippers with 11 points in the third quarter, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, but Aldridge poured in 12 points as the Blazers widened their margin to 84-71 heading into the fourth.

Game Notes

Baron Davis added 16 points and six assists in defeat...Beyond Gordon's 7- of-11 from three-point range the rest of the Clippers only connected on 2- of-15 from long range...Nicolas Batum contributed 10 points for the victors.