Trail Blazers 102, Bulls 94
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum each scored 21 points as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated Chicago Bulls 102-94 Sunday night at the Rose Garden.
Batum scored 16 of his points in the second half for the Blazers (5-5), who got double-figure scoring from six players. LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 and Damian Lillard 16 for the winners.
Joakim Noah filled up the box score with 16 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for Chicago (5-5), which lost for second straight night.
The teams were nearly even in field-goal percentage (Portland .494, Chicago .493) and rebounds (Chicago 35, Portland 34), but the Bulls were hurt by 19 turnovers that led to 26 Portland points.
Portland led 64-49 after making three consecutive 3-point shots -- two by Batum, then one by Lillard -- early in the third quarter. Batum subsequently knocked down another trey, giving him three makes from beyond the arc in the first five minutes of the quarter.
However, the Bulls clawed back to within 69-64 late in the period and entered the fourth quarter trailing only 73-68.
Chicago drew even at 73-73 as Noah continued to be a triple threat, but the Blazers responded with an 8-0 run to go in front 81-73 with 8:32 remaining. Soon Portland's lead was 87-75 before the Bulls snipped the margin to 88-81 with 3:32 remaining.
Then Matthews scored on a put-back and a 3-pointer for a 93-81 lead, but Chicago wasn't done, getting to within 98-94 with 13.9 seconds to go. Aldridge sank two free throws to extend the lead to six, and Lillard added a dunk in the final second.
Chicago made 11 of its first 15 shots to jump to a 22-16 lead, largely on the work of Noah, who had six points, six rebounds and five assists in the first eight minutes.
The Bulls carried a 30-23 advantage into the second quarter on 61.9 percent shooting.
But Portland outscored Chicago 28-13 in the second quarter to carry a 51-43 lead into intermission. Aldridge led the way with 15 points and six rebounds, while Lillard sank five of six shots to score 11 points for the Blazers, who shot 56.4 percent from the field in the half. Matthews added seven points on 3-for-5 shooting, while Ronnie Price also came off the bench to make a nice contribution with five points and three assists in 11 minutes.
Noah wound up with eight points, eight rebounds and five assists in the first half for Chicago, which turned the ball over 10 times and was only 1-for-6 from 3-point range in the half.
NOTES: Nate Robinson was big for Chicago, scoring 18 points in a 19-minute reserve role and spearheading the Bulls' belated charge at the game's end. ... Price contributed 10 points and five assists in 20 minutes, becoming the first Portland reserve to score in double figures this season. ... Portland activated guard Nolan Smith and deactivated forward/center Joel Freeland. ... The Blazers have won five in a row at home against Chicago. ... The last time Chicago played in Portland, in February 2011, Aldridge scored a career-high 42 points in a 109-103 Blazers victory. ... The Bulls entered Sunday having alternated wins and losses in their eight games in November. They dropped a 101-80 encounter with the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on Saturday night.
