BOSTON — LaMarcus Aldridge scored 27 points and added 12 rebounds to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 109-96 victory over the Celtics on Friday night, their first victory in Boston since 2004.
Mo Williams scored 18 with eight assists for Portland, which earned its fifth consecutive victory.
NEXT FOR CELTICS
WHO: Celtics at Minnesota Timberwolves
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
TELEVISION: CSN
Additional Photos
Jared Sullinger, who missed the last game with a bruised knee, had 26 points and eight rebounds off the bench for Boston, which has lost two in a row.
It was Aldridge’s fourth straight game with a double-double. Nicolas Batum added 18 points and Damian Lillard had 17 for the Trail Blazers. Robin Lopez had 10 rebounds.
Portland led 94-80 early in the fourth quarter before Sullinger and Courtney Lee hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the deficit to eight points. Sullinger responded to Williams’ basket with another 3-pointer to make it a seven-point game with 8:51 to play.
The Celtics had two possessions to make it closer but came away without a point. Thomas Robinson rolled one in off the rim on a feed from Williams to make it 98-89, Dorell Wright hit a 3-pointer to make it a 12-point game and Williams hit a short fallaway jumper to make it 103-89.
Boston had won 13 of the previous 15 meetings against Portland since 2004 – a streak that includes the New Big Three era of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen but also the period before that, when the Celtics dropped into the lottery. Boston has allowed 105 or more points in three of its last four games, winning two.
The Celtics opened an eight-point lead early in the second quarter but soon gave up 12-4 and 10-2 runs to fall behind 57-51 at the half. Wesley Matthews had 13 points and Aldridge scored 10 with six rebounds in the first. Sullinger had 10 points off the bench for Boston at the break.
BULLS 96, RAPTORS 80: Luol Deng had 19 points, Joakim Noah scored 18 and Chicago overcame the absence of Derrick Rose to beat Toronto for its first road win of the season.
Deng and Noah also had nine rebounds apiece as Chicago earned its third consecutive win. Kirk Hinrich started in place of Rose and scored 12 points, helping the Bulls improve to 1-3 on the road.
PACERS 104, BUCKS 77: Roy Hibbert scored 24 points and had eight blocks, both season-highs, leading unbeaten host Indiana past Milwaukee.
The Pacers became the first team since the 2002-03 Dallas Mavericks to open a season at 9-0. Indiana has already beaten all four of its Central Division foes and will attempt to stay perfect Saturday night at Chicago.
BOBCATS 86, CAVALIERS 80: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 16 points and Charlotte used a strong fourth quarter to win at Cleveland.
The Bobcats outscored the Cavaliers 29-22 in the final period to win for only the second time in 16 games at Quicken Loans Arena.
HAWKS 113, 76ERS 103: Jeff Teague had a career-high 33 points and 10 assists, Al Horford added 20 points and Atlanta won at home against Philadelphia.
DeMarre Carroll finished with a career-high 21 points for the Hawks, who have won three of four.
Evan Turner scored 27 points, Tony Wroten had 22 points, and Spencer Hawes finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers, who have lost three of four.
HEAT 110, MAVERICKS 104: LeBron James scored 39 points, Dwyane Wade had 17 points, eight assists and a career-best eight steals, and host Miami held off Dallas.
James made 14 of 18 shots for the Heat (6-3), while Chris Bosh scored 14 points. Norris Cole and Rashard Lewis each added 11 for Miami, which has topped the 100-point mark in every game this season.
Wade became the second player in Heat history with at least eight steals and eight assists in a game; Tim Hardaway did it against Atlanta on Dec. 20, 1997.
NUGGETS 117, TIMBERWOLVES 113: Wilson Chandler scored 19 points, including a 3-pointer and three free throws late in the game, and host Denver won its third straight.
Kenneth Faried added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Denver, and Ty Lawson had 14 points and 10 assists.
Kevin Love led the Timberwolves with 28 points.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.