Jamal Crawford scored 27 points off the bench
and doled out seven assists to lead the Atlanta Hawks past the Portland Trail
Blazers, 97-91, at the Rose Garden.
Joe Johnson added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Hawks, who won for the
third time in their four games this season. Zaza Pachulia and Josh Smith had
12 points each, while Al Horford donated 11 points and 13 boards in the win.
LaMarcus Aldridge totaled game-bests of 20 points and 14 boards for the
Blazers, who fell to 2-3 on the year. Brandon Roy ended with 19 points and six
helpers, and Travis Outlaw scored 19.
With the game tied early in the fourth frame, Smith had a reverse layup,
Crawford added a traditional layup and Horford followed suit to give the
visitors an 86-80 lead at the midway point of the stanza.
Outlaw, though, hit on a jumper and then nailed a three to close it to one
point. Crawford added a jumper for Atlanta and it was 88-85 with 4:01 showing
on the clock.
Outlaw then hit a stepback jumper from the top of the key before Johnson had
a three-pointer to make it a four-point game.
The teams traded points before Andre Miller missed a layup which led to
Horford's dunk, which gave the Hawks a 95-89 advantage with 56.4 left to play.
Outlaw had a layup on Portland's next possession, and Atlanta turned the ball
over on its ensuing touch.
The Blazers then got a missed three from Steve Blake and Horford was fouled
with 14.5 ticks showing, which all but sealed the deal.
The Blazers opened a 25-15 lead after the first quarter, but the Hawks battled
back to close it to 48-47 at the intermission.
A seven-point run gave the Hawks a 56-52 lead with about 8 1/2 minutes left,
but the Blazers answered.
Two Martell Webster free throws sparked a 12-0 Portland burst that gave the
Blazers a 64-56 lead with 5:20 showing on the clock. Webster also hit a pair
of threes on the surge.
However, the Hawks closed out the quarter on a 16-5 run that gave the team a
72-69 edge headed to the final frame.
Rudy Fernandez' three-pointer tied the game up at 78 about 2 1/2 minutes into
the fourth.
Game Notes
Atlanta shot 46.3 percent from the floor, as Portland hit at a 42.4-percent
clip...The Hawks had more rebounds, 46-36...These two teams split the home-
and-home series a year ago with each club winning on its home floor. Overall,
Portland has taken 13 of its last 16 contests with the Hawks.
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