76ers 101, Trail Blazers 100
PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers won Monday night but learned once and for all they had lost center Andrew Bynum for the season.
Jrue Holiday hit the go-ahead jumper with 2:30 left and the Sixers survived a last-second shot by Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge in a 101-100 victory.
Holiday finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Philadelphia (26-40), which won for the third time in four games. Thaddeus Young added 19 points and Spencer Hawes, who has started most of the season in Bynum's place, had 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The team announced during the game that Bynum, who has not played all season because of bone bruises on both knees, will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his knees Tuesday in New York and not play in any of the team's remaining games.
Aldridge had 32 points and 14 rebounds for Portland (31-35). Damian Lillard added 27 points for the Blazers, who lost for the ninth time in their past 10 road games. They are 9-24 on the road this season.
Portland, which trailed by 14 points late in the third quarter, moved to a 92-89 lead with 4:01 left in the game on Aldridge's basket. But Damien Wilkins answered with a jumper, and after Luke Babbitt missed a 3-point shot, Holiday connected from the left elbow, giving the Sixers a 93-92 lead.
Baskets by Hawes and Young increased Philadelphia's edge to 97-92 with 1:06 remaining. Lillard and Holiday exchanged baskets, and Aldridge and Lillard then sandwiched 3-pointers around two free throws by Holiday, making it 101-100 with 7.1 seconds left.
Young then threw away the inbounds pass, but Aldridge missed a short jumper in the closing seconds.
Dorell Wright had 16 points and Wilkins 12 for Philadelphia.
Wright and Hawes scored 12 points, Young added 11 and Holiday had 10 in the first half, when the Sixers shot 58.1 percent from the field and took a 58-50 lead.
Aldridge had 18 first-half points, 16 coming in the first quarter.
The Sixers extended their lead to 78-64 late in the third quarter. But Portland scored the last eight points of the quarter to creep within six. Another 8-0 in the fourth quarter -- one that included two 3-pointers by Babbitt -- gave the Blazers a 90-87 advantage with 4:58 to play.
Young and Aldridge then exchanged baskets, leaving it 92-89 with 4:01 left.
Earlier, the Sixers released a statement in which general manager Tony DiLeo said the following about Bynum:
"After many months of rehabilitation and consulting with numerous doctors, Andrew and the doctors treating him determined that this is the best course of action at this point. We will continue to monitor and evaluate his status moving forward."
The arthroscopic surgery will be performed by Dr. David Altchek of the Hospital of Special Surgery in New York. The primary focus of the procedure is to clean out loose bodies from within the knees in an attempt to alleviate pain and swelling.
NOTES: Earlier in the day, the NBA announced that Aldridge had been named Western Conference Player of the Week for March 11-17 after averaging 27 points, 10.7 rebounds, three blocks and three assists while the Blazers went 2-1. Aldridge also made all 19 of his free throws. "He's played this week like he's played the entire season," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "He's been a very consistent player all season for us." ... The Sixers, displaying improved ball movement, had 88 assists on 119 field goals in the three games before Monday, two of them victories. "I've always felt that offensive plays were very overrated in any level of basketball," coach Doug Collins said. "To me, if you put five people on the court and you get good 15- to 18-foot spacing, you pass hard and you cut hard and you move and you help each other, you're going to get good shots."
