Trail Blazers 88, Pacers 82
Damian Lillard had 23 points and eight rebounds and LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 points and 13 rebounds as host Portland knocked off Indiana.
Nicolas Batum had 13 points for the Trail Blazers, who won for the 12th time in 13 games. Wesley Matthews scored 12 points as Portland improved to 10-2 at home.
Rodney Stuckey scored 16 points and Solomon Hill had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who dropped to 0-3 on a four-game road trip. David West added 13 points and eight rebounds.
A layup by Indiana’s C.J. Watson’s tied the game at 66 with 9:10 remaining before Portland rolled off the next 11 points with Lillard scoring the last four. The Pacers crept within 83-80 in the final minute before Aldridge hit two free throws to start a 5-0 run that put the game away.
Both teams short poorly in the first half – Portland at 36.6 percent, Indiana at 35.7 – as the Trail Blazers took a 38-33 lead into the break. A three-point play by Lillard gave Portland a 10-point lead with 5:39 to go in the third quarter before Indiana cut it down to 62-59 entering the final stanza.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Aldridge has six double-doubles over the last seven games. … Pacers C Roy Hibbert had one block to tie Dale Davis (904) for fourth place on the franchise’s career list. … The Trail Blazers finished at 39.8 percent from the floor and Indiana shot 39.6 percent.