|
 Wesley Matthews finished with 24 points, including a dunk that all but sealed it with less than a minute to go in overtime, and J.J. Hickson added 20 points and 15 rebounds for his 20th double-double this season.
Portland has won three straight and 11 of its last 14 games.
Aldridge hit a layup and a free throw that put Portland ahead 112-108 with 3:38 in overtime. After the Magic tied it at 112 on J.J. Redick's hook shot, Blazers rookie Damian Lillard made a pull-up jumper to reclaim the lead.
Lillard added a floater to extend it, and Hickson had a fast-break dunk for a 118-112 lead. Matthews punctuated the run with his dunk and Portland cruised the rest of the way.
Redick led the Magic with 29 points, while Arron Afflalo had 24. Nikola Vucevic had 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Orlando held a slim 97-95 lead but Matthews hit a 3-pointer that put Portland ahead and Nicolas Batum padded it with his own 3 with 3:01 left in regulation.
Jameer Nelson's rainbow 3-pointer kept the pressure on the Blazers, but Batum hit another 3-pointer to make it 106-101 with 1:14 to go.
Nelson made a pair of free throws and Nikola Vucevic added a jumper to close the Magic to 106-105. After Batum hit two foul shots with 16.8 seconds left, Nelson nailed a 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds left that tied it at 108 and sent the game into overtime.
It was the opening of a four-game road trip for Orlando, which has been mired in injuries along with its losses.
The team was again without power forward Glen Davis, who dislocated his left shoulder on Dec. 19 against Washington and has missed nine games. The Magic have not won a game without him. It was hoped that he may return at some points during the trip.
[to top of second column] |
Point guard E'Twaun Moore missed his fifth game with a left elbow sprain. Reserve center Gustavo Ayon was not with the team because of a right thigh contusion.
Blazers rookie center Meyers Leonard missed his fifth game with an injured right ankle.
The Magic went up 19-12 in the first quarter after Andrew Nicholson's dunk. But Aldridge made a 7-foot jumper and Matthews added a 3-pointer to narrow it, and Aldridge's turnaround jumper tied it a 21. Victor Claver's pull-up jumper gave Portland a 25-24 lead going into the second quarter.
Aldridge had 12 points in the first quarter alone.
But the Blazers had trouble maintaining any kind of lead throughout the game. After going up 46-43 with 4:03 left in the half, Orlando's Josh McRoberts hit a 3-pointer that touched off a 14-2 Magic run. Afflalo capped it with a layup that gave Orlando a 57-48 lead at the break.
Aldridge's layup with 4:53 left in the third that gave Portland a 71-70 lead. Wesley Matthews extended it with a layup.
But again, it was short-lived. Reddick hit two straight 3-pointers to hand the Magic back the lead at 88-87 with 10:51 left in the game.
Aldridge's layup pulled Portland into a tie at 93-all with 6:52 left. Afflalo kept the Blazers at bay with a layup and Nelson added a pair of free throws for the Magic.
NOTES: The Blazers assigned guards Will Barton and Nolan Smith to their D-League affiliate, the Idaho Stampede. ... Orlando's Jameer Nelson had 12 assists, surpassing Scott Skiles as the Magic's all-time assists leader with 2,787.
[Associated
Press; By ANNE M. PETERSON]
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
