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Wallace leads Blazers over Clippers

Jan 11, 2012 - 7:25 AM Portland, OR (Sports Network) - Gerald Wallace led five teammates in double- figures with 20 points as the Portland Trail Blazers edged the Los Angeles Clippers, 105-97, at Rose Garden.

LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews contributed 18 points apiece, while Marcus Camby added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Blazers, who have won two straight and improved to 6-0 at home this season. Raymond Felton donated 17 points to go with eight assists for Portland.

"We shared the wealth on both ends of the basketball court," Camby said. "Going down the stretch we were able to get the stops we needed and knocked down a few free throws to save the game."

Caron Butler led the Clippers with 20 points and six rebounds, while Chauncey Billups had 19 points and Blake Griffin contributed a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Chris Paul netted 11 for Los Angeles, which had its three-game winning streak halted.

Trailing 99-92 with 1:08 to play in regulation, DeAndre Jordan swiped the ball from Felton, leading to a Paul layup to make it 99-94 with 46.1 seconds left.

Billups buried a 16-foot jumper with 25 seconds left and was fouled on the shot. He drained the ensuing free throw to make it a three-point game.

But the Clippers could not get any closer as Portland sank its free throws to hold on for the win.

Portland jumped out to a quick 12-5 lead with less than four minutes gone in the opening quarter. The Clippers fought back to tie the game at 24, and led by a bucket, 26-24, after the first stanza.

The Blazers though, created some breathing room for themselves in the second quarter, building up an 11-point lead with seven minutes to play before halftime

Los Angeles answered with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to three, but the Blazers answered back with a 10-2 burst to build the lead back to 52-41 with less than two minutes to play before halftime. Portland led 54-47 heading to quarter number three.

Portland opened the third quarter with the first four points to extend the lead to 58-47. The Clippers then used a 13-6 push to cut the deficit to 64-60 with 5:39 left in the frame, but Wallace answered with a trey on the Blazers' next touch to push the lead back to 67-60. Portland led 78-71 after three quarters.

"We did a good job of fighting in the second half, but we gave up too many uncontested shots," Griffin said.

Game Notes

Portland leads the all-time series between the teams, 136-61, and has won 10 of the last 12 meetings...It was the 165th consecutive home sellout for Portland...Wallace fouled out with 25 seconds to play...The Blazers shot 51 percent from the floor and 5-of-14 from three-point range, while Los Angeles shot 45 percent from the field and just 6-of-23 from beyond the arc...Clippers guard Mo Williams finished with 14 points...Portland turned 14 Clippers turnovers into 18 points.