Saturday, November 22, 2014
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Blazers jump all over banged-up Bulls

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[November 22, 2014]  PORTLAND -- The Chicago Bulls came to the Moda Center like a wounded animal Friday night, and the Portland Trail Blazers wasted no time putting them out of their misery.

Portland jumped to an 18-3 lead and never trailed en route to a 105-87 rout of the Bulls, who were without injured starters Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol and Kirk Hinrich.

Guard Damian Lillard scored 21 points, dished out nine assists and grabbed six rebounds despite sitting out the fourth quarter while forward LaMarcus Aldridge added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Trail Blazers (9-3), who won their sixth straight game and improved to 8-1 at home.

"We took care of business from the jump," said Portland guard Wesley Matthews, who contributed 12 points, four assists and three rebounds. "It was one of our better defensive nights and a good all-around performance."

Rookie forward Nikola Mirotic came off the bench for season highs in points (24) and rebounds (11) for the Bulls (8-5), who lost for the third time in four games.

"He played with a lot of toughness," Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said of Mirotic, a native of Serbia. "He's not hesitating. He's letting go, putting it on the floor, making plays."
 


Guard Aaron Brooks was the only other Chicago player to score in double figures with 12 points.

"You can't say too many positives about tonight, except the way Nikola played, and the way our bench competed," said Chicago center Joakim Noah, who had only seven points and two rebounds in 22 minutes. "We've got a long way to go."

Portland shot .494 from the field and .563 (9-for-16) on 3-point attempts. Lillard sank 7 of 9 shots from the field, including 4 of 4 attempts from 3-point range, and was 3-for-3 at the free-throw line in his 26 minutes.

"Damian was very efficient offensively," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "His 3's were timely. To score 21 points on nine shots -- it doesn't get much better than that. And defensively, he keeps showing he has improved."

"I'm feeling really comfortable," said Lillard, the reigning Western Conference player of the week. "I'm just being myself. I'm just finding the spots on the floor where I can attack and make a play and impact the game."

The Bulls, who lost 103-88 at Sacramento on Thursday night, shot only .361 from the field as their five starters combined for 37 points.

"There was some fatigue," Stotts said. "Chicago was a little tired from last night, and (the Bulls) were without three of their main guys. But I liked our demeanor. I liked our disposition, the way we came out of the gates. The offense came and went, but the defense was solid all night."

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Hot shooting by Aldridge (6-for-9, including 2-for-2 on 3-pointers, 14 points) and Lillard (5-for-6, 3-for-3 on 3's, 13 points) sparked Portland to a 61-43 halftime edge. The Blazers fired at a .610 clip from the field while the Bulls shot only .319 in the half.

Portland extended its lead to 89-61 late in the third quarter, and garbage time was on.

The Blazers jumped to an 18-3 lead midway through the first quarter, the Bulls hitting only 1 of their first 12 shots from the field. Soon the margin was 26-9. Chicago followed with a 12-4 spurt to get to within 30-21. It was 32-21 going into the second quarter, Aldridge leading the way with 12 points.

The Bulls cut the difference to 39-35 early in the second period. It was 45-39 when Lillard scored eight points, including back-to-back 3's, to key a 14-0 run as Portland re-established control, going on top 59-39.

NOTES: Chicago F Mike Dunleavy's third-quarter flagrant foul on Lillard touched off a shoving match that resulted in technical fouls called on Matthews and Chicago's Aaron Brooks. ... Besides Rose (hamstring), Gasol (calf) and Hinrich (chest), the Bulls also lost F Taj Gibson (ankle) in the third quarter. Thibodeau said he didn't think the Gibson injury was serious. ... Portland F Nicolas Batum, who missed the previous four games with a knee contusion, started and collected nine points and three rebounds in 21 minutes. ... The Blazers were without reserve G CJ McCollum, expected to miss a month with a broken finger. ... Portland has limited the opposition to under 90 points five times after accomplishing the feat only seven times during all of last season.

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