NBA: Portland 87, Los Angeles Clippers 72

LOS ANGELES, April 12 (UPI) -- LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 points and the Portland Trail Blazers continued their playoff push Saturday with an 87-72 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers.

A 29-14 second period gave Portland a 46-31 halftime advantage, and from that point, Los Angeles barely stayed competitive.

Aldridge also had nine rebounds. Brandon Roy scored 15 with three rebounds and four assists, Rudy Fernandez scored 13 with four rebounds, and Joel Przybilla scored 10 with 14 rebounds for Portland.

Steve Blake added 10 points, five assists and four rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who finished with a 21-4 run and pulled within one game of idle Denver, the Northwest Division leader.

They also pulled into a tie with idle Houston for third place in the Western Conference.

Eric Gordon's 18 points, five rebounds and three assists led Los Angeles. Zach Randolph, back from a two-game suspension, scored 13 with six rebounds, and Baron Davis added 12 points with three assists for the Clippers, who have lost seven of eight.