PORTLAND, Oregon, Nov. 6 (BUS): CJ McCollum scored 27 points, making five three-pointers, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Indiana Pacers 110-106 on Friday night to lose a three-game winning streak.
Robert Covington added 19 points, the highest of the season, including 3 key indicators, with 14.7 seconds left.
He hit it tonight, an extra pass when he needed it, and defended. He was aggressive,” McCollum said. “He was the champ tonight. He hit some big shots for us.”
Damian Lillard continued to struggle with his shot, going 2 for 13 from the field and missing all six of his 3-point attempts. He had four points and 11 assists, according to the Associated Press.
TJ McConnell has 19 points for the Pacers, whose two-game winning streak has stalled.
Portland led by as much as 16 points in the first half, but the Pacers closed the gap before the break and made little progress in the latter period.
The Pacers advanced 11-0 to go up 97-90 but was cut short by a Yusuf Nurkic layup. McCollum and Covington made 3 throws to pull Portland within 101-98 with 3:55 left.
Norman Powell’s free throws and McCollum’s throw put the Blazers ahead 102-101. After Norkic submerged, Domantas Sabonis’ throw kept the Pacers down.
Covington hit a 3 pointer to extend Portland’s lead, but Miles Turner answered with a 3 to cut him down to 107-106. 3 Covington seconds pass with stamped.
Indiana was without starting guard Malcolm Brogdon, who leads the Pacers with 22.3 points per game, due to a non-COVID illness. McConnell started in his place.
Karis Levert, who missed the start of the season with a stress fracture in his back, averaged 18.5 points in the Pacers’ last two games. He finished with 12 against the Blazers.
“I really love our team. I think we have a lot of talent on this team, but we don’t have that kind of talent to win with talent alone,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “I mean, we have to really relate to each other. And our level of competition must be high.”
Lillard averaged 19.5 points, well below his average last season. Entering Friday’s game, Portland’s All-Star team made just 18 of 77 3-point attempts, or about 23%. However, he is among the league leaders with 8.5 assists per match.
Blazers coach Chauncey Billups praised Lillard’s ground game, saying he was looking for guys to shoot right. When asked if he was concerned about Lillard, the new Portland coach was emphatic.
“No. Why would he? He’s one of the greatest characters of all time. He’s still in his prime. He’s not 38 or 39,” Billups said. “I’ve played this game for so long, I’ve been through it myself.”
Portland led by as much as 13 points early but Indiana closed the gap to 24-22 in the Justin Holiday 3 Index as early as a second.
McCollum made 3 consecutive throws to push Portland’s lead to 40-28, but the Pacers took a 10-0 lead to close the game, 59-53.
“It’s easy to lie down and let the chips fall where they could. But I don’t think we did. We got off to a slow start and were able to hit back. But that wasn’t enough,” Turner said. , and all that – but you have to find a way to get it done.”
Powell finished with 25 points.
Hints
Pacers: Domantas Sabonis, son of former Trail Blazers star Arvidas Sabonis, wore a special shoe designed by Pacific Northwest artist Justin Teigner that honors father and son. … Billups played under Carlisle in Detroit. “It’s a proud moment for me,” Carlisle said of coaching his team against former players. “I always thought Chauncey could do anything he wanted in basketball.”
Trail Blazers: McCollum led all scorers in the first half with 19 points. … Powell played three consecutive games with 20 points or more. … Blazers owner Jody Allen was in the match.
the following
Pacers: Visit the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
Trail Blazers: Play the second of a consecutive game against the Lakers on Saturday.