Brooklyn Nets outlast Portland

(The Sports Xchange) – Brook Lopez collected 32 points and nine rebounds as the Brooklyn Nets led for the final 3 1/2 quarters and held on for a 106-96 points victory over the Portland Trail Blazers Monday night.

Deron Williams added 24 and 10 assists for the Nets, who won for the seventh time in eight games and rebounded from Saturday’s 32-point loss in Atlanta. Thaddeus Young contributed 20 for Brooklyn (36-41), who are 1 1/2 games ahead of eighth-place Boston in the Eastern Conference.

Damian Lillard led Portland with 36 points on 14-of-26 shooting and Meyers Leonard collected 17 and 15 rebounds for Portland, who lost for the second time in their last eight games in a match-up postponed due to a snowstorm in New York on Jan. 26.

The Trail Blazers, who clinched the Northwest Division on Friday, rested forwards LaMarcus Aldridge (left thumb) and Nicolas Batum (back) and center Chris Kaman (right thumb).