Trail Blazers 102, Hornets 100
Damian Lillard scored a season-high 29 points and LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 14 rebounds as host Portland rebounded from a 23-point deficit to beat Charlotte.
Wesley Matthews had 16 points and seven assists and Chris Kaman added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Trail Blazers. The game appeared headed to overtime when Hornets guard Gary Neal drove for a hoop at the buzzer but the basket was negated when replays showed the ball was still on Neal’s hand when time ran out.
Al Jefferson scored 22 points and Kemba Walker added 16 for the Hornets, who have lost seven straight games in Portland. Lance Stephenson added 14 points and 14 rebounds for Charlotte, which never trailed until late in the fourth quarter.
The Trail Blazers finally overtook the Hornets when Steve Blake drained a 3-pointer to give Portland a 97-96 lead with 3:03 remaining. Charlotte was within two in the final half-minute before Aldridge scored on a putback with 14.2 seconds left, and Neal’s basket made it a two-point game with 10.9 seconds prior to the final sequence.
The Hornets came out roaring and led by 14 after one quarter and increased it to 50-27 on Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s free throws with 7:16 left in the half. Portland trimmed its deficit to 13 at the break and trailed 85-75 entering the fourth quarter.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Portland was 8-of-25 from 3-point range with Lillard shooting well, making 5-of-8. … The Hornets drop to 0-4 on the road. … Trail Blazers SF Nicolas Batum (knee) sat out.