Charlotte 101, Portland 92

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Gerald Wallace scored 27 points for the third consecutive game, and the Charlotte Bobcats shut down LaMarcus Aldridge and the Portland Trail Blazers 101-92 on Monday.

Raymond Felton had 24 points and 10 assists and Jason Richardson scored 24 points as the Bobcats improved to 6-4, the best record through 10 games in their four-year history.

Wallace hit 10-of-19 shots, including a key dunk, steal and layup in Charlotte’s decisive run midway through the fourth quarter to drop the Trail Blazers to 0-7 on the road.

Jarrett Jack scored 18 points, Brandon Roy had 17 and Martell Webster 15 for Portland, but the Trail Blazers committed 19 turnovers and got little from Aldridge.

Portland’s leading scorer and rebounder coming into the game, Aldridge got into early foul trouble and was held to seven points and one rebound in 20 minutes on 2-of-6 shooting. Aldridge had been averaging 19.5 points and 8.1 rebounds.

The Blazers, finishing an 0-4 road trip, couldn’t make up for Aldridge’s lack of production, fading in the fourth quarter in their first loss in Charlotte in four games.

Wallace’s dunk with just over 9 minutes left put Charlotte ahead to stay. Following Felton’s 3-pointer, Wallace stole the ball from Roy — one of his six steals — and dunked it at the other end to extend Charlotte’s lead to 84-76.

Richardson’s layup on the next possession made it a 10-point game.

Richardson scored 14 points in the third quarter, including consecutive 3-pointers to give the Bobcats a 50-40 lead. But Portland rallied despite Aldridge being on the bench with four fouls for the final 10 minutes of the quarter.

Webster’s 3-pointer in the final seconds cut Charlotte’s lead to 63-61 entering the fourth. Portland then took the lead on Roy’s turnaround jumper and Jack’s three-point play to start the fourth quarter.

One of Portland’s problems this season — turnovers — played a role early. Wallace had three steals and dunks in the first quarter and Charlotte built a 39-31 lead.

Despite getting a combined 1-of-9 shooting from Aldridge and Roy in the first half, the Trail Blazers rallied to get to 40-36 at halftime when Steve Blake’s swished a midcourt heave at the buzzer.

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