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Blazers, Bobcats do battle in Portland

Jan 2, 2014 - 3:22 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Portland Trail Blazers didn't score 100 points in their last game, but it was enough to propel them to victory.

Portland is the highest scoring team in the league with 108.3 points per game and will host the Charlotte Bobcats Thursday night at Moda Center.

The Blazers recorded an important 98-94 win at Oklahoma City on Tuesday in a battle between Western Conference heavyweights. LaMarcus Aldridge recorded his 18th double-double with 25 points and 14 rebounds, while Damian Lillard also recorded a double-double with 21 points and 11 assists.

Lillard made 4-of-10 3-pointers and became the first player in the league to reach 100 in that category (102). Portland, which was playing on consecutive nights, overcame a 16-point deficit and received 16 points from Wesley Matthews and 15 out of Nicolas Batum.

"Obviously, that was a terrific win to get a game like this on the road during a back-to-back against the best team in the league right now," said Blazers coach Terry Stotts.

Portland ended a two-game losing streak and won for the eighth time in the last 11 tries. The Blazers will also welcome Philadelphia to town and have a 12-3 mark in the Rose City.

In other team news, Blazers rookie CJ McCollum is still recovering from a fractured foot suffered in training camp, but was assigned to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League. McCollum was the 10th overall pick in the 2013 draft out of Lehigh University.

Charlotte is mired in a four-game losing streak and fell to 0-3 on a five-game road trip after Wednesday's 112-85 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Al Jefferson posted his seventh double-double in the last eight games with 14 points and 12 rebounds. He has 12 double-doubles in the last 17 games.

Kemba Walker also scored 14 points and three other Charlotte starters finished in double-digit scoring. Gerald Henderson (12), Anthony Tolliver (11) and Josh McRoberts (10) rounded out those scorers for the Bobcats, who are 6-9 away from home and played well in the first half. The Bobcats shot 51.3 percent (20-for-39) in the first half, including 36.7 percent (4-for-11) from beyond the 3-point line.

"We played a great, championship-caliber team tonight," Charlotte head coach Steve Clifford said. "Our first half offense was good, but we didn't play well in the second half."

The Bobcats were outscored, 25-13, in the third quarter and by a 31-16 margin in the final stanza.

Charlotte will close the trip Saturday at Sacramento.

Portland swept a two-game series with Charlotte last season and has won three straight and seven of the last eight meetings between the teams. The Bobcats are winless in five straight and seven of their nine trips to Portland.