By Caleb Hersch
Posted at 10:35 pm, February 6

The Trail Blazers will head into their road trip on a high note.

Portland held off a late surge by Chicago to win 100-97 in their last home game before a four-game road trip leading into All-Star Weekend.

Brandon Roy led the Trail Blazers with 28 points, his highest total since January 13. Roy hit 12 of his 19 attempts and also added six assists.

LaMarcus Aldridge led the Portland attack early in the game, scoring all of his 18 points in the first three quarters. Aldridge grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots.

The Trail Blazers led by 10 points with eight minutes remaining, but the Bulls pulled to within three during the final minutes. The Trail Blazers held on just long enough, as the Bulls got no closer until the final seconds.

Jarrett Jack started at shooting guard for the Trail Blazers, with Brandon Roy shifting to small forward and Martell Webster coming off the bench.

All three adjusted well to their new roles - Jack scored 17 points for the second game in a row and added six assists, while Webster played very well coming off the bench for the first time this season.

Webster struggled with his outside shooting (0-5 from beyond the arc) but made all four of his two-point shots. He scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds. Webster also displayed his athleticism, scoring all of his points off the dribble going to the basket.

Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan explained the surprise lineup change after the game.

"I changed the starting lineup inserting Jarrett for Martell largely to get more ball movement," McMillan said. "I sort of like having three guards in the game if we can match up that way - three guys who can handle the ball."

Travis Outlaw scored 14 points off the bench and Steve Blake added seven points and seven assists.

The Bulls were without their young core tonight. Luol Deng has been out of action with an Achilles injury, Kirk Hinrich has a rib injury and Ben Gordon was a game-time scratch because of his wrist.

In the absence of three of his team's four highest scorers, Thabo Sefolosha had a career night. Sefolosha scored a career-best 22 points and added four rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks.

Andres Nocioni also scored 22 points for the Bulls. Joe Smith scored 16 points and Ben Wallace added 10 points and eight rebounds. Chris Duhon had nine points and nine assists.

Both teams shot incredibly well from the field. Both teams made 50% of their shots, though the Trail Blazers struggled from three-point range without James Jones in the lineup. The Trail Blazers made just 3-of-17 from beyond the arc but shot very well from the free throw line, making 17-of-21.

The Trail Blazers held the lead from the 4:54 mark of the first quarter until the end of the game. Although the Bulls made strong efforts to pull ahead, the Trail Blazers were able to hold them off each time.

The Trail Blazers head out on the road and will not be back at the Rose Garden for 13 days. They will be in Detroit on Friday to take on Rasheed Wallace and the Pistons.

The game is at 5:00 p.m. PST and will be broadcast on Comcast Sports Network. As always, the game can be heard on 750am KXL.

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