Aldridge scores 14 of his 22 in first quarter as Blazers beat Clippers

Portland 107 def Los Angeles Clippers 102

March 21, 2008

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)—LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high seven assists, Brandon Roy added 21 points and six assists, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 107-102 on Friday night.

Martell Webster had 16 points and Steve Blake had 15 points and 11 assists for Portland, which has slim playoff hopes.

Cuttino Mobley scored 22 of his 24 points in the second half, and Josh Powell added 21 for the Clippers. Los Angeles has lost six straight and 14 of 16 and was missing leading scorer Corey Maggette because of a sore shoulder.

Dan Dickau had 14 points and seven assists, Smush Parker had 14 points and six assists, and Quinton Ross had 12 points for Clippers, who host Portland on Saturday at the Staples Center.

The Clippers outscored Portland 27-20 in the fourth quarter, and got within three points on a 3-pointer from Mobley, but Jarrett Jack hit two free throws for Portland to seal the win. Roy had just two points in the first quarter but bounced back from a 3-for-14 shooting night against Phoenix on Tuesday. He’s averaging 22.7 points over his last 10 games.

With center Chris Kaman (back) missing his seventh straight game, the Clippers had difficulties stopping Aldridge, who was 11-of-18 from the field and has scored at least 20 points in each of the past eight games.

Aldridge got the best of rookie Al Thornton, who suffered through an 2-for-10 shooting night for the Clippers and finished with just five points.

The Blazers entered the contest 7 1/2 games behind Golden State for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Aldridge was almost unstoppable from the beginning, hitting his first seven shots and finishing the first quarter with 14 points and five rebounds to give Portland a 32-24 lead.

Parker came in off the bench and energized the Clippers, hitting his first five shots and getting Los Angeles within 41-39. Dickau hit a 3 to put the Clippers ahead 48-46 and converted a three-point play to put them up by four.

Powell, Ross, Dickau and Parker were a combined 18-of-21 and Los Angeles shot 64 percent in the first half to go into the break tied at 57.

The Blazers tightened up their defense in the third and began to pull away, going on a 16-3 run to make it 77-64. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Blake, who had 10 in the quarter, and Webster extended the lead to 83-67.

The Blazers beat the Clippers 82-80 in the teams’ first meeting Feb. 27 despite missing Roy.

Notes
The Clippers’ F Tim Thomas left the game after the first quarter with a stomach virus. … The first quarter went all Portland’s way. The Blazers had 11 assists to just one turnover, and Sergio Rodriguez beat the horn with a 35-footer. … The Clippers are 9-24 on the road this season.