"It was a bittersweet start to the second half of the season Monday night for the Trail Blazers.

On the one hand, the Blazers enjoyed their highest-scoring outing of the season and LaMarcus Aldridge had another All-Star caliber performance in defeating the woeful Minnesota Timberwolves 113-102 before 20,239 at the Rose Garden.

But on the other hand -- surprise, surprise -- the Blazers encountered yet another injury. And it could be another significant one.

Marcus Camby hurt his left knee when he went up to block a shot attempt by Minnesota forward Michael Beasley early in the first quarter. Camby, who said he "landed a little awkward" on the way down from the block attempt, left the game after playing just 7:30 and did not return.

The Blazers' starting center is expected to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging Tuesday morning to determine the extent of his ailment, but he left the Rose Garden "a little sore," Monday night. Camby offered a dose of optimism, saying he left the game as a "precautionary" measure and that there was "minimal swelling" in his knee.

But there is concern.

"I got up and tried to run it off, limp it off," Camby said of the injury, "(I) went up (the court) a few times and it just didn't feel right when I put weight on it."

A prolonged absence for Camby would be devastating for the Blazers (22-20), who have endured more injuries than any one franchise can seemingly withstand the past two seasons, particularly at center. Greg Oden is out for the season after his third season-ending knee surgery and Joel Przybilla -- who played his best game of the season Monday during extended minutes in Camby's absence -- has not yet returned to 100 percent from his double dose of knee surgeries last season.

Dante Cunningham, the Blazers' 6-foot-9 backup power forward, started at center in the second half.

As for the game, it was billed as a head-to-head duel against All-Star reserve candidates Aldridge and former Lake Oswego High School star Kevin Love and it lived up to the hype. Aldridge, as he has done for the better part of the last two months, carried the Blazers, strengthening his All-Star resume in the process."