Trail Blazers 84, Hornets 77
LaMarcus Aldridge collected 22 points and nine rebounds as the visiting Portland Trail Blazers snapped a three-game slide with a 84-77 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Monday.
Nicolas Batum added 19 points off the bench and Raymond Felton made up for a poor shooting effort with 12 assists for the Blazers.
The Hornets have dropped four straight and 10 of their last 11.
Aldridge, who was named as a finalist for the 2012 U.S. Olympic team on Monday, scored 10 points during a 17-4 run to start the third quarter, putting Portland on top, 54-39.
Aldridge added six more points over the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to keep Portland clear.
New Orleans had one last run in it, drawing to within 79-71 with 2:45 left, but Batum buried a 3-pointer and Wesley Matthews hit a jumper to seal the victory.
Jarrett Jack scored 21 points and Emeka Okafor chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets, who committed 17 turnovers and went 0 for 9 from 3-point range.