Lillard's 34 points carry Trail Blazers past Lakers 124-112 for 4th straight win
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Damian Lillard scored 34 points, LaMarcus Aldridge had 31 points and 15 rebounds, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers 124-112 Tuesday night.
The Blazers' fourth straight victory, coupled with Houston's loss at Brooklyn, moved Portland within 1½ games of the Rockets for fourth place in the Western Conference and home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. The Rockets have three games in hand.
Nick Young, the fifth and last player off the Los Angeles bench, made his first eight shots and finished 15 for 26 with a season-high 40 points. But it wasn't enough to prevent the Lakers' 10th defeat in 14 games. They slipped to 25-49 — the most losses by the club since finishing 33-49 in 1993-94. The franchise hasn't lost 50 games in a season since 1974-75 (30-52).