Batum leads Trail Blazers past Knicks
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Portland, OR (SportsNetwork.com) - Talk about two teams heading in opposite directions.
Nicolas Batum had 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists as the Portland Trail Blazers won their 11th straight game following a 102-91 triumph over the New York Knicks.
LaMarcus Aldridge posted 18 points and 14 boards, while Damian Lillard added 23 points and six assists for Portland, which outscored the Knicks 34-18 in the opening frame in its wire-to-wire triumph.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We're winning ugly and pretty games, like tonight," Aldridge said.
Carmelo Anthony had 34 points and 15 rebounds for the Knicks, who lost their sixth in a row.
"We came out not ready to play," Knicks head coach Mike Woodson said. "The game was won in the first quarter."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The game was tied 12-12 before Portland netted the next 12 points to double-up the Knicks. Batum and Lillard knocked down triples during the burst, which was capped on a pair of Batum free throws with 3:52 left in the first.
Portland saw its 16-point cushion after the first swell to 22 near the midway point of the second before the Blazers took a 56-39 spread into the break.
A 12-4 Knicks run got them within 71-61 late in the third and Anthony's pull- up 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left in the stanza cut the gap to 81-69 going into the final frame.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An Andrea Bargnani trey whittled the deficit to 81-74, but Portland countered with a 9-0 flurry to put the game away. Wesley Matthews hit a triple, Lillard knocked down a step-back jumper and Batum split a pair from the line to cap the surge and give the hosts a comfortable 90-74 cushion with 7:52 left.
Game Notes
Aldridge's double-double was his seventh this season ... Portland held a 40-28 points in the paint advantage and a 16-4 edge in fastbreak points ... Both teams turned the ball over nine times.