Mar 5, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) chases down a loose ball against Dallas Mavericks forward Richard Jefferson (24) at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
PORTLAND, Ore. — Forward LaMarcus Aldridge scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half as the Portland Trail Blazers rolled past the Dallas Mavericks 94-75 Thursday night at the Moda Center.
Forward Nicolas Batum collected 15 points, a season-high 12 rebounds and six assists, while guard Damian Lillard had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists, helping the Trail Blazers (41-19) win their fifth consecutive game. Aldridge grabbed 12 rebounds and picked up his 31st double-double of the season.
Forward Amar’e Stoudemire and guard Monta Ellis each scored 12 points for Dallas, which lost for the third time in the last four outings. Guard Rajon Rondo and forward Dirk Nowitzki added 10 points apiece.
Ellis, Rondo and Nowitzki combined to shoot 15-for-46 (32.6 percent) from the floor.
Portland, which broke open a tight game with a 31-point third quarter, shot 41.5 percent from the field. Dallas shot only 37.5 percent from the field, including 2-for-16 from 3-point range. The Blazers finished 7-for-22 (31.8 percent) from long range.
Aldridge led Portland to a 40-36 advantage at halftime. The Blazers shot only 40 percent from the field before the break, including 2-for-12 from 3-point range, but the Mavericks were worse at 37.2 percent from the field and 1-for-8 on 3-point attempts.
The Blazers heated up early in the third quarter, using a 10-2 run to take a 52-44 lead with 7:36 left. They built the margin to 71-55 late in the quarter. Portland’s edge was 71-57 going into the final period.
Portland got out into the open court to increase its lead to 80-63 early in the fourth quarter. Dallas closed to within 85-75 with 4:10 to play, but Batum’s 3-pointer pushed the Blazers back in front 88-75.
Dallas (40-23) ruled a slow-paced first quarter, taking a 23-17 lead into the second period despite 11 points from Aldridge. Aldridge was 5-for-7 in the quarter, his teammates a collective 3-for-15.
The Blazers scored the first six points of the second quarter to tie it at 23-23, and the teams battled from there until Dallas used an 8-1 run to go ahead 35-28. Portland answered with a 12-1 tear to go back in front by four points at the half.
NOTES: Dallas regained the services of C Tyson Chandler, who missed the previous three games with a left hip injury. He finished with four points and 14 rebounds. However, F Chandler Parsons (left ankle) sat out again. Parsons won’t play Saturday against the Golden State Warriors, and he will be re-evaluated Sunday, according to coach Rick Carlisle. … The Mavericks have the second-most difficult schedule remaining of any NBA team, with 13 games against winning teams and six vs. teams under .500. “We had a favorable schedule early in the year, and we knew it was going to come back this way,” Carlisle said. … The Blazers began the night an NBA-best 12-11 in games in which they trailed after three quarters, including 9-2 at home. They came from 10 points behind or more to win 15 times this season.
