NBA Special: LaMarcus Aldridge lifts Portland Trail Blazers past the Indiana Pacers 97-92
LaMarcus Aldridge collected 25 points and 12 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit to beat the visiting Indiana Pacers, 97-92, on Saturday night at the Rose Garden. It was the fifth consecutive
victory for the Blazers.
Forward Nicolas Batum had 23 points and six rebounds while guard Wesley Matthews drew cheers from the crowd by scoring 19 with a career-high nine assists in the victory.
Rudy Fernandez came off the bench with 11 points, eight assists, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals for Portland.
Danny Granger did all he could as he led the Pacers with team-high 24 points and five rebounds in the defeat. Mike Dunleavy and Darren Collison chipped in with 14 points apiece for Indiana, who lost fourth straight game of the
current season.
Game Story
The Blazers opened the first quarter on a 4-0 run to take initial lead. However, Indiana got it offensively mid through the quarter and managed to take a 24-15 lead with 02:18 to go in the quarter. The Blazers scored four unanswered
points to cut the deficit to five. Paul George had a lay-up shot and forward-centre Jeff Foster hit a pair of free throw as the Pacers carried a 28-19 lead into the second.
Indiana extended their defensive play to the second quarter and went ahead by as many as 16 points on the way to a 53-46 advantage into the locker room.
The Blazers made a marginal comeback in the third quarter and cut the seven-point halftime deficit to three, 28-19, heading into the fourth.
The Blazers came out strong in the fourth quarter and took a 74-71 lead early in the quarter. Portland got nice lifts from its players and stretched its advantage to 88-77 with 05:55 remaining in the final buzzer. The Pacers went
on a 10-3 run to make it a three-point contest, 90-87. Batum hit two free throws to make it 95-89 for good. Posey responded with a badly needed three-pointer to cut the deficit to three with five ticks to go in the game. However, Fernandez nailed a 3-pointer
and Dante Cunningham swatted a Darren Collison driving shot to seal the victory for the Blazers.
The Pacers Small forward Granger was not disheartened with the defeat as he said, "We have to learn how to win in these situations, and we are just not doing it. We are just not closing games out," "We are hoping there is light
at the end of the tunnel and we stop losing these games."
The Trail Blazers will play its next game against the Sacramento Kings on Monday night at the Rose Garden. The Pacer, on the other hand, will take on the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night at the Pepsi Center.
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