Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge spark Trail Blazers by Raptors
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 23 points and recorded 13 rebounds, his 17th double-double of the season, to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a close victory over the Toronto Raptors, 102-97. Portland (26-7) is now on a four-game winning streak.
Aldridge went 10-19 and converted 3-5 from the free throw line. Portland also got solid performances from Damian Lillard with 26 points and nine assists, Wesley Matthews with 19 points and six rebounds, and Chris Kaman with 10 points and eight rebounds. Kyle Lowry had another quality performance for Toronto despite the loss, scoring 25 points on 10-26 shooting. He also added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. James Johnson added 14 points and 11 rebounds and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
The efficient offense of the Raptors did not have its best game, struggling to score against the elite Trail Blazers defense that ranks second in the league with a defensive efficiency of 98.2. Despite scoring just .943 points per possession in this one, the Raptors rank first in the NBA with an offensive efficiency of 111.7. In addition to 18.2% from 3-point range, the Raptors tallied an eFG% of just 42.4%. They are 2-1 on the season when registering marks below 30% and 45%, respectively, in those statistics. The Trail Blazers, conversely, are 11-1 when holding the opposition to such dismal shooting numbers.
Coming up, the Trail Blazers square off against the Atlanta Hawks, who are 23-8 on the season. The Raptors match up against the Golden State Warriors, currently sitting at 24-5 this year.
