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 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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