Trail Blazers 118, Bobcats 112, OT.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Luke Babbitt hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers and Portland overcame an 18-point fourth quarter to beat host Charlotte in overtime Monday night.
The Blazers trailed 97-79 with 5:17 left in regulation, but stormed back to tie the score and sent it into overtime on Babbitt’s 3 with 22 seconds left. Portland never trailed in overtime.
Damian Lillard scored 24 points and Nicolas Batum added 17 points for the Blazers, who finished a road trip with two straight wins.
Ben Gordon set a franchise record with eight 3-pointers — all after halftime — for the Bobcats, who dropped their fourth straight game. Gordon finished with 29 points to surpass 10,000 for his NBA career.
Charlotte had a chance to win at the end of regulation but Kemba Walker’s drive and fallaway jumper from the baseline didn’t fall.
Walker finished with 22 points and 17 assists for the Bobcats. Byron Mullens added 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Charlotte led most of the game before J.J. Hickson gave the Blazers their first lead at 63-61 on a fast-break layup with 4:17 left in the third quarter.
It was short-lived as Gordon began to heat up.
Gordon made two 3s to give the Bobcats a 75-70 lead at the end of the third.
Charlotte carried the momentum into the fourth quarter opening with a flurry, scoring the first 12 points with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist adding six during the stretch and Gordon hitting two more 3s.
But the Blazers began chipping away as Lillard scored 16 points after halftime.
Hornets 102, Bucks 81
Ryan Anderson scored 22 points, Robin Lopez added 21 and host New Orleans Hornets won for only the second time in 11 games.
Lopez shot 8 of 10 from the field and made all five free throws he attempted. He also scored 11 straight points during a pivotal 13-0 run in the third quarter that gave New Orleans the lead for good.
Jason Smith added 12 points and Greivis Vasquez had 11 for the Hornets, who shot 52.4 percent (43 of 82).
Brandon Jennings hit five 3-pointers and finished with 25 points.
