PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) -- The Toronto Raptors finally scored more than 60 points on the road. Unfortunately for them, so did the starting lineup of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Zach Randolph led six players in double figures with 18 points as the Trail Blazers held on for an 83-80 victory over the Raptors, who remained winless on the road.
Toronto has averaged 84.5 points in going 4-0 at home for the first time in team history. But the Raptors came into the opener of a three-game West Coast trip averaging a woeful 58 points on the road.
In this one, Toronto got 33 points from Vince Carter but not much from its other four starters, who combined for 19 points.
"Somebody has to win, of course," said Carter, who is averaging 22 points on the road. "The only positive thing we can pull out is that we played a better game for four quarters. Even when we were down 11 points, we still played like we were in the game. That's important, especially on the road."
First-year coach Kevin O'Neill echoed Carter's sentiments.
"I liked our shots," O'Neill said. "You want to control the tempo, you want low turnovers, which we did. We just couldn't make open shots and free throws, which has kind of been the story all year."
Randolph led the Trail Blazers in scoring for the fifth time in seven games as they got 64 points from their starting lineup.
Portland's starters shot 44 percent (27-of-61) and most were near the basket as they attempted just seven 3-pointers.
"We shared the ball, I think that's the key, especially a game like tonight, a slowdown game," Trail Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "I think it's a lot easier for guys to flow. So six guys in double figures in a game tonight, I think that's very encouraging."
Portland seemed on the way to closing out its third straight home win, holding an 80-73 lead with 2:50 remaining. The Raptors used a 7-2 spurt to get a chance to tie, but Lamond Murray missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
Before Murray's miss, Morris Peterson also misfired from the arc with 1:46 remaining and the Raptors trailing, 82-75. But Peterson dunked and Carter hit a 3-pointer with six seconds to play, setting the stage for the final play.
Former Raptor Damon Stoudamire added 14 points, Bonzi Wells, Rasheed Wallace and reserve Jeff McInnis each netted 11 and Dale Davis chipped in 10 for the Trail Blazers.
Toronto shot 41 percent (29-of-70) after hitting at 32 percent in its first two road losses. But the Raptors were beaten on the boards, 45-29.
"We're supposed to compete," O'Neill said. "We're a pretty good rebounding team, but their size, especially with Rasheed at the three, just killed us. We have to find a way to keep improving. We need to become more comfortable out there and start making some shots."
Stoudamire scored 12 points in the first half as the Trail Blazers took a 46-40 lead into the locker room.
Portland looked like it was going to turn the game into a rout after building a 59-48 cushion with 6:20 remaining in the third quarter.
The Raptors could not get the deficit under six points as Milt Palacio and Carter misfired on 3-point attempts and Randolph converted a layup with 20 seconds left to send the Trail Blazers into the final period with a 70-60 advantage.
"It was a grind-out game," Cheeks said. "It seemed like we're going to be playing those types of games, just grinding them out. The object, of course, is to win basketball games. We've got to learn how to defend better, rebound better and execute our offense better. Tonight it looked like we could put the game away early or on several other occasions, but we missed shots, missed free throws and the game would turn around some."
A three-point play by rookie Chris Bosh got Toronto within 70-66 less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, but the Raptors missed their next four possession, enabling Portland to rebuild a double-digit lead.
Randolph collected 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.
