Trail Blazers 125, Magic 119 (OT)
By Kerry Eggers, The Sports Xchange
PORTLAND -- Portland broke a 112-112 tie in overtime with a 10-point run and went on to a 125-119 victory over Orlando Monday night at the Rose Garden.
It was the 10th win in 13 games for the Trail Blazers (19-15), who are four games better than .500 for the first time this season.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Blazers, who also got 24 points from Wesley Matthews, 20 points and 15 boards from J.J. Hickson and 18 points and 10 assists from Damian Lillard.
J.J. Redick came off the bench for 29 points for Orlando (12-22), which lost its ninth straight game. Arron Affalo (24 points), Jameer Nelson (21 points, 12 assists), Nikola Vucevic (17 points, 13 rebounds) and Josh McRoberts (12 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists) all had big games for the Magic.
Portland scored the first four points of the overtime period, with Aldridge's three-point play giving the Blazers a 112-108 lead. After Orlando tied the score at 112-112, Lillard hit a jumper, then a floater. After a pair of turnovers, Lillard first set up Hickson and then Matthews for dunks. When Aldridge scored on a pair of foul shots, it was 122-112 and the Magic were goners.
Redick scored seven straight points to start the fourth quarter to stake Orlando to a 92-87 lead. The Magic were still on top 97-93 when Matthews and Nicolas Batum buried back-to-back 3-pointers to finish an 8-0 run and give Portland a 101-97 edge with three minutes remaining.
Consecutive baskets by Vujecic drew Orlando to within 106-105 with 19 seconds to play. Batum made a pair of free throws with 16.8 seconds left to hike the margin to 108-105.
After a timeout, Nelson sank a three and it was tied 108-108 with 8.9 seconds to go. After another timeout, the Blazers got the ball to Lillard, whose shot from top of the key missed, and it was on to overtime.
Orlando's lead was 61-50 early in the third quarter when Lillard fueled a 15-4 surge that tied the game at 65-65. Moments later, Aldridge's driving layup pushed Portland in front 71-70. The Blazers upped their advantage to 75-70, but the Magic - with Redick bombing from afar - evened the count at 85-85 going into the final period.
Orlando scored the final 10 points of the first half to go into intermission with a 57-48 advantage. Afflalo rained in 7 of 9 shots and scored 16 points for the Magic, who got major bench contributions from Redick (11 points) and McRoberts (8).
NOTES: Portland forward LaMarcus Aldridge had his car rear-ended on the drive to the Rose Garden. Aldridge was fine, if a little shaken, as there was some significant damage to the car. "It was the other guy's fault," Aldridge said. ... The Blazers got word Monday that rookie center Meyers Leonard, who has missed the last four games with a sprained right ankle, will probably be out for another couple of weeks. "It was more than a tweak," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "Sprains can last a long time. It's a setback for him and for us to not have him out there. He's young; he'll bounce back. It's just disappointing that it happened." ... Injuries to Orlando's top three forwards -- Al Harrington, Glen Davis and Hedo Turkoglu -- for significant portions of the season have had their impact on the Magic's eight-game losing streak entering Monday play. Harrington (knee) has missed the entire season. Davis (shoulder) has been out the last eight games. Turkoglu (hand) has been back the last four games after fracturing his left hand Nov. 2 against Denver.
