National Basketball Association
Portland 130, Brooklyn 116
When: 10:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 4, 2017
Where: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Officials: #34 Kevin Cutler, #49 Tom Washington, #20 Leroy Richardson
Attendance: 19638

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Portland Trail Blazers aren't looking for style points these days. Just victories.

The Trail Blazers lost all of a 15-point second-quarter lead, then regrouped to pull out a 130-116 victory over the Brooklyn Nets Saturday night at Moda Center.

"We could have done a lot of things better," said Portland point guard Damian Lillard, who contributed 19 points and 11 assists. "We had some loose moments over the course of the game. But at this point in the season, you don't apologize for a win. We need to win games, and we got it done."

It was the second straight win for the Blazers (27-35) and their second-highest scoring output of the season behind a 131-109 victory over Indiana on Nov. 30.

The fact that it came against the team with the NBA's worst record (10-51) didn't matter.

"We didn't do a good enough job closing," said CJ McCollum, who scored 31 points to go with five rebounds and five assists. "We should have put them away earlier. but with the way we've played this season, a win's a win."

The Blazers shot 57 percent from the field, including 16 for 25 (64 percent) from 3-point range. They got 23 points from Al-Farouq Aminu and 18 from Moe Harkless, who combined to sink 7 of 8 shots from 3-point territory.

"The responsibility for CJ and me is the same every game -- make plays, score points and lead the charge," Lillard said. "But when we get Chief (Aminu) and Moe slashing to the basket and knocking down 3's, that makes us a completely different team."

Brook Lopez scored 26 points and Sean Kilpatrick came off the bench for 20 points for the Nets (10-51), who lost for the 18th time in 19 outings. Brooklyn shot 52.3 percent from the field, including 14 for 30 (46.7) on 3-point attempts.

"We shot well, but we couldn't find a way to get stops when it really counted," said Nets guard Jeremy Lin, who scored 11 of his 18 points in the second half. "(Lillard) and McCollum are just extremely talented offensive players, and the other pieces, like Aminu, filled in well. They hit big shots, too."

The Blazers, benefitting from eight Brooklyn turnovers in the first eight minutes, jumped to a 23-14 lead. They increased the margin to 33-22 and settled for a 37-27 advantage after one quarter.

Portland extended the lead to 44-29, but the Nets used a 22-8 spurt to cut it to 53-51. The Blazers carried a 58-57 edge into intermission.

"It was a little frustrating, to get a 15-point lead and then get away from some of the good things we were doing," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "We didn't keep the foot on the pedal."

The Blazers extended their advantage to 83-71 late in the third quarter. The Nets scored seven straight points to get to within 83-78, but Portland took a 90-82 lead into the final period.

Brooklyn cut the difference to 103-97, but the Blazers answered with an 8-3 run for a 111-100 advantage. The Nets got no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

"It was nice to see the ball go in the basket," Stotts said. "Offensively, it was a very good game for us all night. We moved the ball and played with confidence."

NOTES: It was Portland's second-best shooting performance of the season, behind only its .576 shooting in 129-109 win at Brooklyn on Nov. 20. And it was the Blazers' second-best 3-point shooting game of the season. They fired at a 68.4 percent clip from beyond the arc (13 for 19) in a season-opening win over Utah on Oct. 25. ... Portland has won four straight at home against the Nets. ... Brooklyn G Joe Harris is out indefinitely after suffering a concussion during the Nets' loss at Utah Friday night. ... In his first six games in a Portland uniform, C Jusuf Nurkic has averaged 14.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists. ... In the five games since the All-Star break, Portland G Damian Lillard is averaging 29.7 points. ... Lillard, who was 2 for 6 on 3-point attempts, tied the franchise single-season record held by Cliff Robinson (1995-96) by making a 3 in his 41st consecutive game. ... Portland G CJ McCollum has scored in double figures in 51 straight games. ... Portland entered the game ranked No. 26, Brooklyn No. 28 in the NBA in defensive efficiency rating.
Top Game Performances
 
Brooklyn   Portland
Brook Lopez 26 Scoring C.J. McCollum 31
Caris LeVert 6 Assists Damian Lillard 11
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 8 Rebounds Al-Farouq Aminu 6
Spencer Dinwiddie 6 Free Throws Made Jusuf Nurkic 5
Caris LeVert 2 Steals Shabazz Napier 3
Brook Lopez 2 Blocks Maurice Harkless 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Brooklyn 116 52.3 14-30 12-17 24 31 6 7 14
Portland 130 57.0 16-25 16-22 29 37 6 9 13
Upcoming Games
  • Portland will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Trail Blazers have a W/L % of .360 after a win and .472 after a loss.
  • Brooklyn will play their next game on the road against Memphis. The Nets have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .196 after a loss.