Trail Blazers 100, Hawks 85
LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 16 rebounds in his return from a back injury as visiting Portland snapped a three-game skid and handed Atlanta its fifth consecutive defeat.
Damian Lillard added 21 points for the Trail Blazers, who hold a one-game lead over the Golden State Warriors in the battle for fifth place in the Western Conference. Nicolas Batum scored 12 points and Robin Lopez and Wesley Matthews added 11 points apiece.
Jeff Teague tallied 22 points for the Hawks, who saw their lead slip to 1 1/2 games over the New York Knicks in the battle for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Lou Williams scored 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and Elton Brand contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds.
The Trail Blazers led by 16 early in the fourth before Williams scored eight points during a 10-0 burst that brought Atlanta within 80-74 with 8:10 to go. A three-point play by Aldridge and a 3-pointer by Batum helped Portland push the advantage out to 13 and the Trail Blazers finished it off to improve to 1-3 on a five-game road trip that concludes Friday in Chicago.
Aldridge had 14 first-half points to help Portland possess a 53-37 lead at the break. Atlanta narrowed its deficit to six points five minutes into the third quarter before Lillard scored five straight to start a 9-2 run and later connected on a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Trail Blazers a 78-64 lead entering the final stanza.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Aldridge was 9-of-21 shooting and played 32 minutes after sitting out the previous seven games. … Lillard had four 3-pointers as Portland was 10-of-26 from behind the arc, while Atlanta was 4-of-22. … Hawks G Kyle Korver (back) missed his fifth straight game.