Trail Blazers ease past Bobcats

Portland, OR – All five Portland starters as well as two reserves scored in double figures as the Trail Blazers downed the Charlotte Bobcats, 122-105, at Rose Garden.

The Blazers ended a successful 3-1 homestand by hitting an eye-popping 59.8 percent from the floor and 12-of-24 from behind the arc.

The balanced attack saw LaMarcus Aldridge finish with 23 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Nicolas Batum and Damian Lillard each scored 20 points, while J.J. Hickson and Wesley Matthews added 15 and 14 points, respectively, in the rout.

"We shouldn't have beaten them last time we played them," said Lillard. "Our attenas were up, I think everybody was prepared to play. We knew that we were capable of losing this game because of the type of team that they are, they play hard."

The Bobcats went winless on a four-game road trip and have dropped seven straight overall. Ramon Sessions scored a team-high 18 points, while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist totaled 17 points and 10 rebounds in defeat.

"I felt like we scored enough points to win," said Gerald Henderson, who had 14 for Charlotte. "We just couldn't match them with their three's. That's a lot of points to score."

The Blazers never trailed after the opening two minutes and led by as many as 17. They had four double-digit scorers by halftime and led 31-25 at the end of the first quarter and 68-55 at the break. Matthews complemented the high scorers with nine points as he made three of the club's eight 3-pointers.

The closest the game got in the second half was nine early in the third quarter. It was a 91-79 game entering the fourth and the outcome was never in doubt.

Game Notes

The Bobcats' last victory in Portland came on Mar. 29, 2008, a span of five games ... Kemba Walker checked in with 15 points and 11 assists for the Bobcats, who shot just 1-of-10 from 3-point range ... Meyers Leonard and fellow reserve Eric Maynor logged 15 and 10 points, respectively, to round out Portland's high scorers.