PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland Trail Blazers' glee over trouncing the Los Angeles Lakers was tempered by their concern for teammate Rudy Fernandez.

Fernandez was injured when he was fouled hard late in the third quarter of Portland's 111-94 victory last night. He was taken from the court strapped to a stretcher, his neck in a brace.

"Just the way it played out — it's hard to watch your teammate over there laying down and they're bringing out stretchers. That was a tough moment for all of us," said Brandon Roy, who led the Blazers with 27 points.

Fernandez was conscious and alert when he left the court, and he had full movement of his extremities, the team said. But he was experiencing chest pain and was taken to a hospital overnight. X-rays were negative.

Trevor Ariza, who fouled Fernandez, said he hoped the rookie from Spain wasn't seriously hurt.

"It wasn't anything I was trying to do," Ariza said. "I wasn't trying to hurt him. I was just trying to make a play on the ball."

Travis Outlaw had 22 points for the Blazers, who have won 12 straight at the Rose Garden. Joel Przybilla added 12 points and 18 rebounds, while LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Kobe Bryant had 26 points, while Pau Gasol had 18 for the Lakers, who haven't won at the Rose Garden in their last seven tries, with their last victory Feb. 23, 2005.

"We have to respect our opponent and play them like they're Boston or Cleveland," Lakers forward Lamar Odom said. "They play us like we're a tough team, or one of the best teams in the league, so why not play against every team like that? It would be smart for us to do."

Fernandez hit a 3-pointer that gave Portland a 81-51 lead in the final minutes of the third quarter. Shortly thereafter, he was driving to the basket on a fast-break when he was fouled by Ariza.

Fernandez fell hard under the basket, on both his elbow and his hip. He remained prone on the court for more than 10 tense minutes before being taken from the court on a stretcher.

Fernandez, who also had a CT scan, was expected to be kept at a hospital overnight for observation. Initial reports said he suffered a soft-tissue injury to the upper chest and side.

A skirmish broke out among the two teams and Ariza was ejected. The Blazers were assessed a pair of technical fouls.

HAWKS 89, HORNETS 79

ATLANTA — Joe Johnson scored 30 points and Atlanta beat New Orleans, ending the Hornets' season-best seven-game winning streak.

Johnson had only 12 points in back-to-back games and was held under 20 points in four straight before re-emerging against the Hornets. He had 10 points in the third quarter and helped the Hawks protect the lead in the final period.

Johnson's 30 points are his most since a season-high 41 against Chicago on Dec. 27.

WIZARDS 110, TIMBERWOLVES 99

MINNEAPOLIS — Caron Butler had 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to lead Washington over Minnesota in a matchup of teams that had lost 14 straight combined.

Antawn Jamison added 26 points for the Wizards, who had lost five in a row.

Kevin Love had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Ryan Gomes scored 18 for the Timberwolves, who have lost 10 in a row and 15 of their last 16.

And the news may only be getting worse. Guard Randy Foye had to be carried to the locker room in the fourth quarter with a sprained right ankle.

PISTONS 98, MAGIC 94

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Richard Hamilton scored 29 points and had a career-high 14 assists as Detroit beat Orlando.

Detroit, already without Allen Iverson (back) for the sixth straight game, lost Rasheed Wallace to a calf injury late in the first quarter. Antonio McDyess, though, added 13 points and 18 rebounds to help the Pistons finish off a 3-0 season sweep of the Magic.

Dwight Howard had 27 points and 14 rebounds for Orlando, which has lost 19 of its last 24 regular-season meetings with the Pistons.

ROCKETS 97, NUGGETS 95

DENVER — Ron Artest scored 22 points and Aaron Brooks added 19 in Houston's win over fading Denver.

Brooks sank one of two free throws with 22.7 seconds left to give Houston a 93-90 lead. Linas Kleiza got the rebound and Denver called a timeout. But Chauncey Billups, who led the Nuggets with 28 points, missed a layup, and Kyle Lowry sank two free throws with 9.9 seconds left.

The Nuggets, who were the No. 2 seed in the West at the All-Star break, have slipped all the way to seventh in the conference with eight losses in 11 games.

NOTES

Bulls: For Luol Deng, a tiny leg fracture is becoming a big problem. The Chicago forward will sit out at least two more weeks with what he called a "very small, not even a hairline" break in his right leg, something that could wind up jeopardizing the remainder of his season. Deng is averaging 14.1 points and 6.0 rebounds this season.

Bobcats: Charlotte sent rookies Alexis Ajinca and Sean Singletary to Sioux Falls of the NBA Development League, and agreed to sign guard Dontell Jefferson to a 10-day contract.