Trail Blazers 100, Bulls 89
TRAIL BLAZERS 100, BULLS 89: LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 points and Wesley Matthews stepped up in the fourth quarter as new-look Portland began the Kaleb Canales era in strong form. Chicago was again without Derrick Rose and had its three-game winning streak end.
Matthews scored nine of his 18 points in the fourth as the Blazers took control. Nicolas Batum scored all 15 of his points in the first half, and Raymond Felton added 16 points and five assists for the Blazers.
Portland was one of the most active teams at Thursday’s trade deadline, sending away two-thirds of the starting frontcourt in Gerald Wallace and Marcus Camby and firing coach Nate McMillan. Canales, 34, is now the youngest coach in the NBA.
Whatever message the front office was delivering with those moves seemed to be received on Friday, as the Blazers dominated the final frame. A 10-3 run to begin the fourth was highlighted by Matthews’ 3-pointer and gave Portland an 88-82 edge.
Chicago, playing its second straight game without Rose due to a groin injury, pulled back to within 89-86, but Aldridge scored on consecutive possessions and Matthews buried another from beyond the arc to make it 96-87 with 3:01 to play.
Carlos Boozer collected 22 points and 14 rebounds to lead Chicago.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Blazers outscored the Bulls, 22-10, in the fourth quarter. … Portland shot 11 for 21 from 3-point range and 11 for 12 from the free throw line.