Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge help Portland beat Chicago

PORTLAND — Greg Oden tied a career high with 24 points and LaMarcus Aldridge also had 24 to help the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Chicago Bulls 122-98 Monday night.

Oden, the first pick of the 2007 NBA draft, made 7 of 8 shots from the field and added 12 rebounds.

"I'm not saying my game is where it should be, but when I can get good, deep post position and overpower people and get good shots up, I definitely want to use my strength," Oden said.

Aldridge pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.

The Blazers had five players score in double figures. Brandon Roy had 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Andre Miller scored 16 and Rudy Fernandez 13.

Luol Deng scored 25 points and John Salmons added 22 for the Bulls.

Portland's 122 points was a season-best total and the Blazers outrebounded the Bulls 47-27.

The Blazers have won five in a row over the Bulls.

Notes

• Tracy McGrady returned to practice with the Houston Rockets for the first time since microfracture surgery in February, but the seven-time All-Star said he doesn't know when he will play.

McGrady said he could play, but Rockets coach Rick Adelman has said the 30-year-old is not ready. McGrady said the difference of opinion between he and Rockets officials is not a problem, but he is upset people have faulted him for wanting to return now.

"I'm ready to play basketball," he said. "Everybody is making a big deal because I say I'm ready and GM and my coach say I'm not ready. Everybody wants to make a big deal that I'm this diva ... It's crazy."

• Cleveland center Shaquille O'Neal asked for a shot. The Cavaliers gave him 10 days off instead.

The team wouldn't comply when O'Neal asked for a cortisone injection to make his ailing shoulder feel better, choosing to treat it with rest and rehab. O'Neal returned to practice and said he is hopeful he can play at Detroit on Wednesday.

"You can tell it's a great organization," said O'Neal, who missed five games. "I was cursing and screaming and trying to make them shoot me up, but they wouldn't do it."

• Tim Donaghy, the disgraced former referee, bet on far more games than previously disclosed and picked winners at a spectacular rate, according to a professional gambler who conspired with Donaghy.

James Battista, who was charged as a co-conspirator in the 2007 case, told HBOs "Real Sports" he and Donaghy bet on 47 games over four months and won 37 times, according to a report in The New York Times. Donaghy pleaded guilty in August 2007 to conspiring with gamblers by providing them with inside information; he was released from prison after serving a 15-month sentence.

• Golden State coach Don Nelson, 69, has pneumonia and will miss Golden State's games today in Dallas and Wednesday in San Antonio. Assistant Keith Smart is coaching the Warriors (4-8).