LOS ANGELES — A night after an emotional victory over the best team in the Western Conference, the Portland Trail Blazers looked sluggish in the first half against one of the league's worst.

Coach Nate McMillan challenged his players when down by two in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers, and his young team answered.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 points, Joel Przybilla added 10 points and 14 rebounds, and the Blazers beat the Clippers, 87-72, last night to tie for third place in the Western Conference.

The Trail Blazers needed a late rally to beat the lowly Clippers, who were up by two with 7:44 remaining. The win came a day after Portland beat the Lakers at home.

"We weren't sharp but we kept fighting and we had some guys to step up in the second half and break it open. If I had a hat, I would tip it to our guys because they've just been gutting it out," McMillan said. "To pull out this game tonight after an emotional game in our building last night against the Lakers was huge for us."

The win was huge in the standings, too.

Portland tied Houston for the No. 3 seed with its fourth straight victory and the Trail Blazers also pulled within a game of Northwest Division leader Denver, which is second in the West.

The Blazers made their win over the Lakers look easy compared to the effort against the Clippers.

So why was this game so difficult?

"We were a little flat," Portland's Steve Blake said. "Some nights they're just not falling at first. They were playing behind in the post and a lot of teams front us, but we just didn't take advantage of our opportunities."

Maybe it was the fourth game in five nights?

"Maybe," Greg Oden said. "Maybe guys need a day off."

Eric Gordon had 18 for the Clippers, who have lost seven of their last eight.

Los Angeles, down most of the game, took its first lead since the first quarter when Gordon scored on a layup to make it 68-66 with 7:43 to play.

But Portland went on an 18-0 run, keyed by two 3-pointers from Rudy Fernandez, and the Clippers failed to score for more than five minutes until Baron Davis had a layup to make it 84-70 with 1:40 left.

"We missed a lot of point-blank shots and then we had some wide-open 3s that we didn't make. They didn't make a lot of 3s but they had it when it counted," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said.

PACERS 106, PISTONS 102:

Danny Granger scored 24 points and Jarrett Jack added 18, including a spinning layup with 37 seconds left for a 103-102 lead, and host Indiana made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 16 seconds to hold off Detroit.

NETS 103, MAGIC 93:

Vince Carter had 27 points and nine assists as New Jersey ended Orlando's bid for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Orlando forward Hedo Turkoglu hurt his left ankle with 6:51 left in the game. There was no immediate word on his condition.

SUNS 110, TIMBERWOLVES 97:

Two games after Phoenix was eliminated from playoff contention, Grant Hill gave his young teammates a lesson in professionalism, scoring 19 points in 23 minutes in a victory over Minnesota.

BUCKS 115, THUNDER 98:

Richard Jefferson tied a season high with 35 points, Luke Ridnour added 18, and host Milwaukee opened the second half with an 11-2 run for a 67-53 lead and never looked back in beating Oklahoma City to snap a four-game losing streak.

WARRIORS 118, JAZZ 108:

C.J. Watson scored a career-high 38 points, Robert Kurz added 21 and visiting Golden State, with only seven healthy players, opened a 64-51 halftime lead and never allowed Utah to get closer than five thereafter.

BULLS 113, BOBCATS 106:

Ben Gordon scored 39 points, John Salmons added 19, and host Chicago won its fourth straight to hit the .500 mark (40-40) for the first time since mid-November with a victory over Charlotte.

NOTES

Nets: All-Star guard Devin Harris missed New Jersey's game against the Orlando Magic last night because of a shoulder injury. Harris hurt his left shoulder against the Los Angeles Clippers on March 15 and missed five games. He aggravated the injury earlier this week and coach Lawrence Frank decided to rest him with the Nets out of the playoff hunt.

Magic: Orlando forward Rashard Lewis sat out last night's game against New Jersey because of tendinitis in his right knee. With the Magic's chance of catching the Boston Celtics for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference all but gone, coach Stan Van Gundy decided that he would give Lewis a rest last night and again tomorrow against the Milwaukee Bucks.