LaMarcus Aldridge, Damiam Lillard lead Trail Blazers past Raptors 115-110 in OT

TORONTO – LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard scored 25 points each, and Nicolas Batum added 24 more to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 115-110 overtime victory against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

Portland held a three-point halftime lead after giving up 58 percent shooting to the Raptors in the first half. Outscoring Toronto 22-15 in the third quarter, the Trail Blazers took a 10-point advantage into the fourth where they continued to connect from downtown.

Despite leading by 17 points, Portland allowed Toronto to get back into the game and Rudy Gay forced overtime with a buzzer-beating layup.

Lillard was three-for-three from the floor in the extra period, while Batum scored on each of his three-point attempts. Mo Williams sealed the game at the free-throw line.

Gay tied a season-high with 30 points to go with 10 rebounds for the Raptors while DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points. Jonas Valanciunas added a season-high 19 points in the loss.

The Blazers connected on a season-high 15 three-pointers, finishing 15-for-32 from beyond the arc. Toronto made just three three-pointers.

Portland’s ability to heat up from three wasn’t a surprise to the Raptors. Raptors coach Dwane Casey talked about Portland’s potent offence prior to Sunday’s game.

“(They’re) one of the best offensive teams that we’ve seen,” Casey said. “I think as far as scoring the basketball, averaging 103 points a game, they are a very explosive offensive team so we’ve got to be on point. We’ve got to guard the three-point line.”

Unfortunately for Casey, his team wasn’t able to do anything to cool the Blazers down.

The victory against the Raptors moved Portland to 8-2 on the season and was their sixth straight win.