Portland, OR (Sports Network) - Although they were outplayed for most of the
night, the Portland Trail Blazers kept their home winning streak intact.
Wesley Matthews nailed a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute, including the
go-ahead triple with 26.9 seconds left in the Trail Blazers' 92-90 win over
the Miami Heat.
It was Portland's ninth straight home win.
Nicolas Batum had 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Portland,
which hasn't dropped a home decision since Dec. 8 against the Sacramento
Kings.
LeBron James finished with just 15 points, the first time all season he's been
held below the 20-point barrier. James was 12 games away from matching the
most consecutive 20-point games to start a season since the NBA-ABA merger at
45, held by George Gervin in 1981-82.
Chris Bosh netted 29 points to lead the Heat, who have dropped three of their
last four games.
Down 80-68 in the fourth after Dwyane Wade sank two free throws, the Blazers
countered with a 14-2 run to tie the score.
Batum, who had eight points during the surge, capped it with a three-point
play to make it 82-82 with 4:03 left. The long-armed Frenchman intercepted a
Wade pass and raced the other way before laying the ball in and drawing a
foul.
Allen gave the Heat the lead right back with a triple and split a pair of foul
shots a bit later to give Miami an 88-85 advantage with 1:05 to play.
But Matthews came through in a big way. He knotted the game at 88-88 with a
three from the left corner, and after Bosh's dunk gave the visitors a two-
point edge, Matthews swished home a step-back trey from the right wing for a
91-90 Portland margin.
It was the Blazers' first lead since the middle stages of the opening frame.
Allen missed an open three at the other end, and after LaMarcus Aldridge split
a pair from the charity stripe, Mario Chalmers misfired as the horn sounded.
Miami led 21-18 after a quarter of play and headed into the break with a 52-39
cushion.
The Blazers outscored the Heat 24-16 in the third and went into the final
period staring at a 68-63 deficit.
GAME NOTES:
Aldridge finished with 20 points and 15 boards ... With 10 rebounds and nine
assists, James was a helper shy of a triple-double ... Miami turned the ball
over 17 times, which led to 19 Portland points.
The Sports Network