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Blazers continue playoff push with win over Raptors

Sun 14th, March 2010

Portland, OR (Sports Network) - Nicolas Batum made 5-of-6 from three-point land, en route to 22 points, leading Portland to a 109-98 win over Toronto.

LaMarcus Aldridge also provided 22 points to go with 12 rebounds and Brandon Roy scored 20 for the Trail Blazers, who have won four straight and seven of eight overall.

Andre Miller had another solid all-around game with 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the victors.

"I think we're just finding our rhythm," Aldridge said. "We've had the same guys in the lineup for a few games. Now we're getting used to having guys in the lineup."

Chris Bosh finished with 28 points and seven boards for the reeling Raptors, who went winless on a four-game road trip and have lost five straight overall. Hedo Turkoglu and Amir Johnson netted 14 and 13 points, respectively, in defeat.

"I thought we competed pretty hard," said Raptors head coach Jay Triano. "At halftime we talked to our guys about doing a good job. The shots that (the Blazers) were making, we had hands in their face, and they were still making shots."

Down by as many as 11 in the early going of the fourth, the Raptors whittled their deficit down to 93-91 on a Sonny Weems jumper midway through the frame.

Portland scored eight of the next 10 points to extend the margin to 101-93 on two Batum free throws with 3:16 to play.

Two Bosh free throws made it a 101-95 game, but six straight Portland points, capped by a Batum three-pointer, sealed the win for the hosts.

Roy made two late free throws in the first quarter to yield a 32-30 lead for the Blazers, who scored the first seven points of the second frame.

Another 7-0 run capped by a Marcus Camby bucket later in the stanza made it a 49-35 game, and the Blazers cruised into the locker room with a 60-49 cushion.

Toronto won the third quarter by a slim margin and headed to the fourth trailing 85-78.

Game Notes

The Blazers are currently the eighth seed in the Western Conference and hold a comfortable five-game lead on Memphis...Toronto still holds the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference but leads Chicago by just one game...Portland swept the home-and-home season series against Toronto for a second straight season...Rudy Fernandez and Camby each scored 12 points for Portland...DeMar DeRozan had 12 points, while Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon each netted 11 for the Raptors. Calderon also handed out seven assists...Portland made a season-high 12 three-pointers (12-of-20) in the game.