Celtics Fall To Blazers Despite Late Lead [VIDEO]

The Boston Celtics led the Portland Trail Blazers 109-108 with 1:08 left in the fourth quarter, but the Blazers went on an 8-0 run to beat the Celtics 116-109 Thursday night.

The Celtics contained the dynamic backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, who combined for 31 points on 11-of-35 shooting, but Al-Farouq Aminu scored 28 points, a career high. Portland is now 40-36 and in sixth place in the Western Conference.

Celtics forward Jae Crowder, who returned to the lineup after missing eight games with a high ankle sprain, played more than 34 minutes and posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Isaiah Thomas scored 22 points and led the Celtics in scoring for the 14th consecutive game, breaking a team record set by Larry Bird during the 1987-88 season.

The Celtics are now 1-2 on their current 5-game West Coast road trip. Boston drops to sixth place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind Charlotte and Miami, who are tied for fourth place in the East.

The Celtics will take on the Golden State Warriors Friday night at Oracle Arena. The last time these two teams met was on Dec. 11, when the Warriors beat the Celtics 124-119 in double overtime.

Dating back to last season, the Warriors have won 54 consecutive regular-season home games, an NBA record. The Warriors are 68-7 this season, just four wins shy of matching the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ record of 72 regular-season wins.