By AP
PORTLAND, OR – Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge each had 20 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers held off the tired but tenacious Detroit Pistons 87-81 on Wednesday night.
The Blazers led by as many as 20 points in the second half, but the Pistons chipped away and closed to 76-70 on Charlie Villanueva's jumper with 3 minutes left.
Villanueva hit another jumper to make it 78-75 with 1:29 to go, and after Steve Blake made a bad pass on Portland's end, Villanueva's fast-break layup cut it to 78-77.
Blake redeemed himself, however, by hitting a 3-pointer with 25.2 seconds left.
The teams traded free throws before Villanueva's tip-in made it 83-81 with 10 seconds remaining, but that was as close as Detroit got.