IU coach Kelvin Sampson had one reason why his No. 11 Hoosiers fell to No. 13 Wisconsin on Thursday night.

“It seemed like every time we had a chance to get the lead down to six or five we couldn’t finish,” Sampson said.

There was no bigger chance for the Hoosiers than a trip to the free throw line from senior forward D.J. White.

The Hoosiers scrapped and clawed their way from a 20-point deficit, cutting the Wisconsin lead to 50-43 on the strength of a 17-6 run sparked by strong defense and scoring from freshman guard Eric Gordon.

Trailing by seven with 6:08 left in the contest, White stood on the free throw line with the chance to cut the Wisconsin lead to five. White missed the first free throw of a one-and-one, stopping the momentum of the Hoosier run.

The senior forward buoyed the Hoosiers for most of the game while his teammates struggled, leading the Hoosiers with 22 points and 17 rebounds, but reflected on the missed free throw after the game.

“We didn’t capitalize on our chances,” White said. “I missed a front end of a one-and-one, Armon came down a had a wide open three. Shots just didn’t fall.”

Missed opportunities were the theme of the game for the Hoosiers (17-3, 6-1 Big Ten). IU fell to fourth place in the Big Ten with the loss. Wisconsin moved into a three-way tie for first place with Michigan State and Purdue, all three teams boasting a 7-1 conference mark.

Sampson pointed to the missed free throw as a crucial turning point in the game.

“I thought a key part of the game was, after we were down by 20 and cut it to seven with a chance to get it to five and D.J. White was at the line with a one-and-one,” Sampson said.

IU never recovered from the free throw miss as the Badgers capitalized down the stretch and ultimately cruised to a 12-point victory. Gordon, who scored 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting, was unable to regain the scoring touch he discovered during IU’s 17-6 run in the second half.

Sampson said he wants Gordon to drive to the basket more in key situations, something the star freshman has gone away from in the last few games.

“The thing he (Gordon) has to start getting better at, that he was really good at earlier in the year, is that he has to return to getting to the free throw line,” Sampson said. “Because he can.”

Sampson said the team can build on this game as he was happy with the player’s effort despite a poor shooting night. Next time, Sampson said, the Hoosiers will have to make the key plays at the right time like the Badgers did Thursday night.

“Our defense was good tonight,” Sampson said. “In critical situations, they were better than us. When they needed a critical basket, they got it.”

Kirk Hinrich wasn’t hesitating.

He was taking open jumpers, driving toward the basket, doing everything he could to score. And finally, the shots started falling.

Hinrich finished with 27 points after a rough start, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 96-85, spoiling Randy Foye’s return from a knee injury Tuesday night.

“I felt like I was getting good looks, being aggressive,” Hinrich said. “I just wasn’t quite getting my legs underneath me on my shots and on my drives. So I was just trying to make a conscious effort of playing through fatigue and trying to get the job done.”

Hinrich found the energy — and the stroke — in time to lead the Bulls past a team that is showing signs of progress, even if it has the NBA’s worst record. The Timberwolves had won three of four, beating Phoenix along the way, and the lone loss during that stretch was by one to Boston.

Foye, sidelined all season by a a stress reaction in his left kneecap, scored 11 points in 17 minutes and felt fine afterward.

“I just wanted to get a win tonight,” Foye said.

Hinrich made sure that didn’t happen.

He hit a jumper midway through the third quarter to break a 49-49 tie after missing 11 of his first 12 shots. His layup two minutes later made it 57-55, and the Bulls started to pull away. He scored 12 points in the period as Chicago built a 71-62 lead.

Andres Nocioni added 18 points for Chicago, which had lost three of four, and the Bulls got a solid outing from Joakim Noah (10 points, 13 rebounds).

The Timberwolves never challenged in the fourth.

They hit just 1 of 14 3-pointers, and they couldn’t get much going inside during the second half. Ben Wallace contained Al Jefferson in the final two quarters, contributed four steals and finished with 12 rebounds, helping Chicago to a 48-36 edge on the glass.

“Ben Wallace’s defense on Al Jefferson was fantastic, especially in the second half,” interim coach Jim Boylan said. “Al is really talented and has improved the last couple of seasons. Ben is good down there in the post. That is a big part of our ability to win the game tonight.”

Jefferson scored 13 of his 20 points in the first half and grabbed 12 rebounds, after delivering a career-high 40 and pulling down 19 rebounds against New Jersey on Sunday. Rashad McCants got going in the second half, scoring all but two of his 16 points, and Marko Jaric scored 14.

It was a rough night for the Timberwolves, even though they welcomed back one of their best players and the Bulls were again missing their stars — guard Ben Gordon (sprained right wrist) and forward Luol Deng (left Achilles’ tendinitis).

“It’s going to take awhile,” Foye said. “I’m not expecting to come out and score 50 points, shut someone down. … Whatever time (coach Randy Wittman) gives me, I’m going to play as hard as I can.”

Foye entered the game with 4:16 left in the first quarter and missed his first two shots, but found his stroke early in the second. He scored seven points in the opening 1:45 of the period, hitting a 3-pointer, and although his minutes were limited, his knee appeared to be fine.

An NBA all-rookie team selection last season, Foye is a key figure as the Timberwolves rebuild following an offseason overhaul in which they sent Kevin Garnett to Boston. He averaged 10.1 points, 2.8 assists and 22.9 minutes while playing all 82 games last year.

Foye said he bruised the knee in summer league and continued to play on it, aggravating the condition. He appeared in three preseason games before shutting it down.

He initially expected to miss several weeks, but the injury was slow to heal. He started practicing on a limited basis on Jan. 7 and began participating in all drills about a week ago.

“They put me through a lot of conditioning workouts leading up to this, so I felt great,” Foye said. “The only thing is I felt a step behind. Certain times I felt as though I could blow past certain people, but I just didn’t. I wanted to set the offense up.”

It has become trendy to suggest that Tyrus Thomas is on his way out of town though the last thing Chicago Bulls GM John Paxson is going to do is give up on a player with Thomas’ potential just 1½ seasons after drafting him.

Thomas could be part of a package to bring in a front-line player, but there is no chance the Bulls would trade him just to get rid of him.

If there are any players on the team likely to be traded, it would be Chris Duhon and Viktor Khryapa, who are about to become free agents and may not be back next season. There might be a contending team that could use an extra point guard for the stretch run.

 Kirk Hinrich surveyed the scene and made the call. This was his night to attack, to carry his team, and he delivered in a big way.

Hinrich scored a career-high 38 points, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers 108-95 on Wednesday night even though their two best players were injured.

“I don’t know what to say,” Hinrich said. “I felt a responsibility to do that tonight. We just needed a win. There was definitely some desperation for this team.”

The Bulls learned earlier in the day that forward Luol Deng would miss one to three weeks because of his recurring left Achilles’ tendinitis. Then, they found out that leading scorer Ben Gordon would sit out with a sprained right wrist.

Even so, they had more than enough to beat the Pacers.

Hinrich, who hit 14 of 21 shots, scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and left to a loud ovation with 40 seconds left.

“You know, he took 21 shots; that might be the most he’s ever taken in a game,” Pacers guard Travis Diener said. “He could have taken 50, the way he was shooting it. I just thought he was more aggressive. He’s a great player.”

He had help, though.

Andres Nocioni added 24 points, including six during a 17-0 run in the second quarter that snapped a 29-all tie and put the Bulls ahead for good.

Rookie Joakim Noah added 14 points and a season-high 15 rebounds, and Thabo Sefolosha scored 14 points.

Danny Granger did all he could to keep Indiana in the game, scoring a career-high 33 points.

“My teammates were finding me and I was knocking them down, but I’d trade it all for a win,” he said.

The Pacers had whittled the lead to 79-77 on a basket by Shawne Williams and two free throws by Mike Dunleavy (10 points) 1:16 into the fourth. But the Bulls went on a 16-6 run that increased their lead to 95-83 with 5:19 left in the game.

Hinrich scored six points during that stretch and delivered a behind-the-back pass in transition to Noah for a dunk that drew a roar from the crowd.

“We got a good win today, but at the same time, we can’t get too happy,” said Noah, who played the entire fourth quarter. “Right now, we’re a team that’s trying to get into the playoffs. We want to be there. And in order to do that, we have to be consistent.”

They moved within a game of Indiana and idle New Jersey for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after absorbing two big blows before tipoff.

Gordon hurt his wrist during a 104-90 loss at Memphis on Monday and was unable to play against the Pacers. Deng’s condition has been bothering him for about a month, and he does not want to rush back.

“We’re going to try to be smart about it,” he said before the game. “I don’t want to come back and have to sit down again. Even if I feel good after one week, I’m really going to try to test it and see how good it feels before I start going again.”

Deng, second on the team at 17.9 points per game, missed three games before returning Jan. 13 at Atlanta. The problem flared up again during the fourth quarter against Golden State on Friday, and he sat out the following night against Detroit. He played 26 minutes at Memphis but sat out the fourth quarter because of the pain and the lopsided score.

The Bulls did just fine without Deng and Gordon, outscoring Indiana by 11 in the second quarter while building a 57-43 halftime lead and pulling away in the fourth.

“I had to make plays tonight, without (Gordon) and (Deng),” Hinrich said. “Those guys do a lot of stuff for us, attack for us on offense. I’m confident I can make plays.”

Rudy Gay thinks the Memphis Grizzlies might finally be finding their identity.

For the second straight home game, Memphis jumped out to a big lead before halftime then coasted to an easy victory. On Monday, it was a 104-90 win over the Chicago Bulls.

“We played our game, and we didn’t settle for less,” Gay said. “When we come out and want to play fast, and we don’t settle for anything else, I think we’re pretty good.”

Gay and Mike Miller each had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies. Pau Gasol added 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Mike Conley had 10 points and a career-high 10 assists.

Ben Gordon led the Bulls with 25 points, and Andres Nocioni had 16 points. Luol Deng added 13 points and Kirk Hinrich had 12 points and six assists for Chicago, which shot just 36.5 percent from the field while Memphis connected on 52 percent of its shots.

It was nice to see a strong, passionate defensive effort,” Memphis coach Marc Iavaroni said. “It was good to see our defense step up. There were a lot of deflections and a lot of activity.”

The Grizzlies built a 17-point lead in the second half and maintained the double-digit advantage the rest of the way, winning for the second time in three games.

The Bulls are 0-17 in games where their opponents score 100 points.

The Bulls pulled to 82-72 with 7:20 left, but Memphis made eight of its first 10 shots in the fourth quarter to hold off Chicago, never allowing the Bulls to cut the deficit under 10 in the final period.

None of the Bulls had a good shooting night. Gordon hit eight of 20 shots, while Nocioni was 5-of-16 and Hinrich was 5-of-14. Joe Smith and Thabo Sefolosha both missed six of nine shots.

“We wanted to come out early and be aggressive. Really set the tempo and play our style of basketball,” Conley said. “We really had it going up and down the court, moving it around and getting them uncomfortable.”

Chicago was coming off a 97-81 win Saturday over the Detroit Pistons, the Central Division leader, and expected to be more competitive.

“We haven’t been consistent effort wise, and our record is indicative of that,” Bulls interim coach Jim Boylan said. “We can’t have just one, two or three guys giving effort. We have to have all five. Even the teams that don’t have great records are coming to play.

“Memphis just outplayed us in every area effort-wise.”

The Bulls trailed 36-35 with 3:33 left in the first half but Memphis closed out the second quarter with 12 unanswered points to go into the break with a 48-35 lead.

Miller scored 11 points, and Gay and Conley added 10 points apiece in the half.

Chicago shot 33 percent in the first half as Nocioni missed all five of his shots and Sefolosha missed five of his six shots.

Chicago made a dent the lead in the early stages of the third as Memphis committed four turnovers in the first 2 minutes, leading to a 7-0 run by the Bulls to open the half. But Chicago still couldn’t improve its shooting touch, and after the early mistakes, Memphis found its rhythm and took a 74-62 lead into the final period.

“I really think we kind of ran their legs out a little bit,” Conley said. “We’re used to getting up and down, and I think we really wore on them in the fourth quarter when it came to crunch time. They started missing some of the shots they normally make.”

 Indiana found a combination that worked and stayed with it.

Eric Gordon scored 25 points, D.J. White added 22 and the No. 9 Hoosiers, keeping the same lineup the entire second half, wore down Penn State 81-65 on Sunday.

 ”It was a slow-paced game. They were zoning us,” Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson said. “Usually you make a substitution for fatigue or for foul trouble. But I liked the way they were playing, so I saw no reason to make a substitution.”

The Hoosiers (16-1, 5-0 Big Ten) won their 27th straight home game and stretched their winning streak this season to 12 games, their longest in 15 years.

“Once we got to halftime, the quality of shots, the ball movement, was as good as we’ve played all year in the second half,” Sampson said. “We had maybe two turnovers. That’s just a high level of play. … The second half was outstanding at both ends.”

Penn State (10-7, 2-3), which lost leading scorer and rebounder Geary Claxton with a season-ending knee injury against Wisconsin on Tuesday, came out strong, stayed with the Hoosiers most of the game and led 52-51 before a 3-pointer by Gordon started a 14-4 run that put Indiana in control. White had Indiana’s next five points and assisted on another basket by Jamarcus Ellis, and the Hoosiers began pulling away for good.

“It was a stretch where we needed to pick it up,” White said. “We needed somebody to step up and the guards did a good job finding me open at the right time.

“There’s always a lot of work to be done. That’s what practices are for, to get better each game.”

White, Gordon, Ellis, Armon Bassett and Lance Stemler played all 20 minutes in the second half.

“It all started with our defense,” Ellis said. “Even in the second half, we came out a little lackadaisical but we started to pick it up the last 7-8 minutes. We knew they were going to play hard without Claxton.”

Two free throws by Talor Battle were the only points by the Nittany Lions in the next 4 minutes after White’s scoring burst, and two free throws by Gordon, a 3-pointer by Bassett and a layup by Gordon pushed Indiana’s lead to 72-58. Penn State, which has never won in 15 games at Assembly Hall, never came closer than 12 points the rest of the way, and Indiana took its biggest lead at 81-60 in the closing seconds.

“We were trying to keep them away from the basket. We got a little soft with our zone,” Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. “We hit that little stretch there where we weren’t really active. … We were OK for 30 minutes; unfortunately, this is a 40-minute game.”

Bassett added 17 points and Ellis finished with 12 for the Hoosiers. Battle, a freshman, had a career-high 20 points and Jamelle Cornley added 19 for Penn State. Freshman Jeff Brooks, who started in place of Claxton, had six points.

“This is the first time out without him,” DeChellis said of the loss of Claxton. “Talor played well, Jamelle played well. We just need to find another guy who can score.”

Despite the loss of Claxton, who was second in the Big Ten in scoring and rebounding, the Nittany Lions stayed with Indiana in the first half, even after a 10-0 run gave the Hoosiers an early 12-6 lead.

Four of Penn State’s first five field goals were 3-pointers, then a basket and two free throws by Cornley and a 3-pointer by Stanley Pringle tied the game for the first time at 22. After a turnover by Indiana, Pringle was fouled on a layup and converted the three-point play with a free throw for a 25-22 lead.

There were two more ties and three lead changes over the final 5 minutes of the first half.

Gordon’s fourth 3-pointer tied the game at 32, then Ellis stole the ball, was fouled and hit both free throws to put the Hoosiers back in front. After a turnover by Penn State, Lance Stemler hit a 3-pointer for the Hoosiers before Battle’s basket in the final seconds made it 37-34 at the break.

A 3-pointer by Battle gave Penn State its final lead at 52-51, and a basket by Cornley tied it for the final time at 54 before two straight baskets by White put Indiana ahead to stay.

“Unfortunately, they hit some pretty deep 3s and penetrated the zone, which allowed them to get some easy baskets,” Cornley said. “Right now, we’re trying to figure out who’s going to step up. We’re searching right now.”

Illinois coach Bruce Weber says he has yelled, thrown tantrums, brought in guest speakers, peppered his players with motivational sayings and tried just about anything else he thought might shake the Illini out of their funk.

No luck yet.

Trevon Hughes scored 22 points and Brian Butch added 16 as No. 21 Wisconsin beat Illinois 70-60 on Thursday night to give the Illini their first four-game losing streak under Weber.

The losing streak began with three home losses, something Weber said was particularly troubling, and now the Illini (8-8, 0-3 Big Ten) head to No. 11 Indiana on Sunday as part of a stretch in which they’ll play five of seven on the road.

“We shouldn’t be in this dilemma,” said Weber, who is in his fifth season at Illinois. “If we played this hard back at the time, we wouldn’t be in this position, and this wouldn’t be a major catastrophe.”

The Illini, who came in as the only conference team to beat Wisconsin (13-2, 3-0) in the Kohl Center under coach Bo Ryan, managed to hang around for much of the game.

That was largely due to their 13 offensive rebounds, which produced 12 second-chance points, and shooting well from behind the 3-point line, a rarity for Illinois.

But the Badgers were finally able to take charge midway through the second half. Calvin Brock brought the Illini within 44-41 with just under 10 minutes to go before Wisconsin responded with consecutive 3-pointers from Jason Bohannon and Hughes. That sparked a 16-5 run over the next five minutes that put Wisconsin up 60-46, and Illinois wouldn’t threaten again.

Hughes played his best game since missing Wisconsin’s win at then-No. 9 Texas two weeks ago with a sprained ankle. The point guard had 11 points and five assists in Wisconsin’s wins over Michigan and Iowa, but he added five assists and six steals to his game-high 22 points Thursday.

He said he finally felt quicker than he had in the past two games, but the key was not trying to do too much.

“I just slowed it down a notch,” he said.

The Badgers shot 48 percent from the field, committed just nine turnovers and shot better than 72 percent from the free throw line, above their season average of 67 percent. But they were outrebounded 35-25.

Brock and Trent Meacham both had 14 points for Illinois, with Meacham hitting 4-of-5 from behind the 3-point arc. Illinois was 6-of-10 overall from 3-point range after coming into the game shooting just 28 percent from behind the arc.

While the Illini found their stroke from the outside, their post presence all but disappeared because of foul trouble. Shaun Pruitt was limited to 25 minutes and scored nine points, while Brian Randle scored four points and fouled out. The two combined to shoot 5-of-15 from the field and grabbed nine rebounds.

Randle had one particularly painful sequence on four straight Illinois possessions in which he missed an uncontested dunk, failed to convert a three-point play, jammed a second dunk attempt between the rim and backboard, and then had a third dunk attempt blocked by Greg Stiemsma.

“We’ve done all kinds of things,” Weber said. “We’ve just got to find a way to hang together and get a win.”

David Lighty and Othello Hunter each scored 14 points to lead Ohio State to a 79-48 win over Iowa Wednesday night, pushing the Buckeyes’ winning streak to eight.

Ohio State (12-3, 3-0 Big Ten) outscored Iowa 27-3 over the final 11 minutes of the first half to break open what had been a close game.

Reserve guard Eric Wallace scored 10 for Ohio State.

Tony Freeman scored a game-high 21 points for Iowa (7-9, 0-3), and junior forward Cyrus Tate added 10.

Iowa was 19-of-56 from the field while Ohio State made 33-of-63 shots and out-rebounded the Hawkeyes 36-33.

The Buckeyes are 3-0 in the Big Ten for the first time since winning their first seven conference games in 1991.

Jamelle Cornley and Geary Claxton had their second consecutive pair of double-doubles, and Penn State held off Illinois 68-64 on Sunday.

Cornley had 18 points and 12 rebounds and Claxton added 11 points and 11 boards. The two combined for 40 points and 22 rebounds in the Nittany Lions conference opening win last week against Northwestern.

The Nittany Lions, winners of just three Big Ten games last season, are 2-0 in conference and 10-4 overall. They’ve won two in a road on the road after losing every road game last season.

Freshman guard Demitri McCamey gave sinking Illinois (8-7, 0-2) a little glimpse of its future in the loss, leading the Illini with 18 points.

It was McCamey breathed late life into the Illini.

After Claxton hit a pair of free throws to put the Illini up 63-58 with 41 seconds left, McCamey hit a pair of 3-pointers that pulled Illinois within a point at 65-64 with 10 seconds left.

But he missed his last shot, and the Illini’s last chance, floating up a shot from inside the lane.

Penn State started only one player taller than 6-5 Sunday, but outmuscled Illinois on the boards, 49-24.

During one, decisive stretch, from late in the first half to the midway point of the second, the Illini went more than 11 minutes without a rebound.

Penn State watched Illinois pull away to a lead of 9 midway through the first half, 20-11. Seven early points from junior Calvin Brock, all on long-range jumpers, helped build that lead.

The Nittany Lions slowly reeled Illinois back in, closing to within a point twice late in the half before taking their first lead, 25-24, on a pair of Talor Battle free throws with 2:22 left. Battle had 9 for the game.

After falling behind by 9, Penn State outscored Illinois 38-23 over the next 25 minutes, giving the Nittany Lions 49-43 lead with 12 minutes left in the second half.

Brandon Roy was hurting. He’d fallen on his tailbone and was so sore his mobility during two tiring overtimes was limited. He also had a cut under his eye.

“I took a couple of bangs here and there and just fought through it,” Roy said.

And so did the Portland Trail Blazers, the NBA’s hottest team.

Roy’s teammate Jarrett Jack drove for a go-ahead basket and converted a three-point play with 19 seconds left in the second overtime as the Trail Blazers outlasted the Chicago Bulls 115-109 on Thursday night for their 15th win in 16 games.

“I fell on my tailbone in regulation and I really couldn’t move,” Roy said. “I told Coach I’ll continue to be a decoy. … I was just trying to gut it out for the team. We’d come too far to let this one slip.”

Jack made sure that didn’t happen as the Trail Blazers improved to 2-0 since their 13-game winning streak ended Monday in Utah.

Roy had 25 points and Travis Outlaw 21 for Portland.

Ben Gordon scored 32 points to lead the Bulls and veteran Joe Smith added a season-high 31 as Chicago dropped to 3-2 since Jim Boylan was appointed interim coach after the firing of Scott Skiles.

With the game tied in the second overtime, Gordon lost the ball as he was dribbling to set up a shot, Jack picked it up after it was tipped and drove for a go-ahead layup and was fouled by Gordon. His free throw put the Trail Blazers up 111-108.

“The ball sprung loose and I was just ready to get it. I knew I was going to attack him after that,” Jack said. “It was me and him. My problem is being able to finish in the lane and luckily I was able to get it down.”

Gordon was trying to maneuver and get open for a shot, as he did most of the game.

“I was trying to pump fake and get him in the air but the ball slipped out of my hands,” Gordon said. “Somebody tipped it to Jarrett and I tried to get back and swipe the ball. … I didn’t touch him. I ran right past him. I was surprised to hear the whistle blow.”

Moments later, Smith just missed an attempt from in front of the basket, was fouled on the play and hit the first free throw but missed the second with 14 seconds to go.

Portland rebounded and James Jones sealed the exhausting victory by making four free throws down the stretch.

Gordon’s jumper with 1:01 left had given the Bulls a two-point lead in the second overtime, but Kirk Hinrich fouled Roy, landing on him after he faked a shot with 45 seconds remaining.

Roy made the first and then went to the bench to have a small cut under his right eye treated. He returned to the line and rolled in the second for another tie.

Luol Deng, the Bulls’ second-leading scorer at 18.5 points per game, left in the second quarter with tightness in his left Achilles’ and managed only two points. He played just 13 minutes and 55 seconds, all in the first half.

Deng said he’d hurt the Achilles’ in an earlier game and aggravated it Thursday night when he came down after a jump shot. He might have an MRI on Friday.

It was the fourth game in five nights for both teams, and the Bulls couldn’t hold a 14-point lead they built in the third quarter.

“It was a very winnable game,” Gordon said after the Bulls lost their second straight overtime game at home. “Both teams were tired. … They came up with more key plays in the pivotal moments.”

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 14 points and added 13 rebounds for the Trail Blazers. Ben Wallace chipped in 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulls.

Aldridge’s basket gave Portland a 106-104 lead in the second extra period but Wallace, a 49 percent free-throw shooter entering the game, made two straight from the line and was 4-for-4 in the two overtimes.

Averaging 29 points in the four games since Boylan asked him to drop out of the starting lineup and be the sixth man, Gordon scored 14 in the first half on 6-for-10 shooting. He finished 15-for-27 from the field.

Gordon’s 3-pointer and late jumper helped the Bulls take a 48-41 halftime lead. And when Chicago reeled off the first seven points of the third quarter, the lead was up to 55-41.

The Trail Blazers shot only 37 percent in the first two quarters and Aldridge was scoreless at the half. Aldridge had a career-high 36 points two games ago in the loss to the Jazz