TORONTO - LaMarcus Aldridge scored a season-best 33 points and grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 94-84 victory and hand the Toronto Raptors their seventh loss in a row on Friday.
Raymond Felton added 14 points and five assists for the Blazers who led by as many as 21 points in the first half.
Nicolas Batum also had nine points and Wesley Matthews and Gerald Wallace each scored eight. Former Raptor Marcus Camby took in 10 rebounds.
James Johnson led the Raptors with a career-best 23 points while DeMar DeRozan added 22. Leandro Barbosa had 17 coming off the bench and Jose Calderon dished out 12 assists to go with seven points.
The Raptors, losers of nine of their past 10 games, have lost to the Blazers in the past seven meetings between the teams. Portland has won four in a row at Air Canada Centre.
The Trail Blazers (9-6) entered the fourth quarter with an 11-point lead but the Raptors (4-12) were within eight after DeRozan's running jumper with 4:23 to play.
Portland always seemed in control and never allowed Toronto to mount a serious threat, holding a 55-40 advantage in rebounds.
The Raptors, playing without Andrea Bargnani for the fifth game in a row, entered the second half trailing by 15 but cut the lead to five with 8:15 to play in the third quarter when DeRozan made two free throws.
But Jamal Crawford hit on a fade-away jumper at the end of the third quarter to give Portland a 71-60 lead.
Aldridge had 23 points by half time when the Trail Blazers built a 47-32 lead. At one point in the half, the Blazers led by 21 points and had more rebounds than the Raptors had points.
At the intermission Portland had a 30-19 advantage in rebounds with Aldridge hauling in 11, which equalled his season high for a game, and Camby already had his 10.
By contrast, Barbosa and Johnson led the Raptors at the half with seven points each and Calderon had eight assists.
Crawford's 22-foot jump shot at the end of the first quarter gave the Blazers a 27-14 lead.
Notes: Attendance at Air Canada Centre was 17,537. ... Toronto's Aaron Gray fouled out with 42 seconds to play. ... In addition to Bargnani (strained left calf), the Raptors were without guard Jerryd Bayless (left ankle sprain) for the 13th game in a row. Bayless is considered closest to returning, having had two practices. It is hoped that Bargnani will be able to practise on Saturday in Los Angeles ahead of Sunday's game against the Clippers at the Staples Center. ... The Raptors play their next five games on the road before returning home for a Jan. 31 game against Atlanta.
