| |
|
NBA -- Lillard's 30 guide Blazers to 115-108 win over Nuggets
By Ryan Gallardo PhilBoxing.com Mon, 08 Apr 2019

PORTLAND -- Damian Lillard exploded for 30 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 115-108 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday at the Moda Center.
Before a sold-out home crowd of 19,890, Lillard sank five 3s and finished with six rebounds and five dimes in a sizzling All-Star performance.
The victory improved the Blazers' record to 51-29 and increased their lead to two games over the 49-31 Utah Jazz for the fourth seed and home court advantage in Round 1 of the Western Conference playoffs.
Portland hit 41 of 89 field goals (46.1 percent) and punished the Nuggets off the boards, 58-42.
Their bigs -- Al-Farouq Aminu and Enes Kanter ---- combined for 24 rebounds and 34 points while Seth Curry and Rodney Hood each had 11 points off the bench.
An added bonus for Portland was the return of All-Star shooting guard C.J. McCollum who was sidelined for ten games by a knee injury. He was eased into the lineup and scored nine points in 25 minutes.
"I felt like I was moving pretty well. I felt my conditioning was in pretty good shape," said McCollum, who is averaging 21.1 points per game in 69 outings this season.
The Nuggets, meanwhile, rested their top three scorers in Nikola Jokic, Paul Millsap and Jamal Murray. With the season winding down, they are already assured of home court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs either as a No.2 or No.3 seed. The coaching staff felt that rest was more important than getting a higher seed as the postseason begins this coming weekend.
Without their top guns, Gary Harris carried the scoring load for Denver with 18 points. Malik Beasley and Trey Lyles contributed 15 apiece, but it wasn't enough as the Nuggets, who fell to 53-27, shot only 42 of 95 from the field (44.2 percent) and missed nine of their 20 free throws. (RG)
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ryan Gallardo.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
‘CALM’ PERO READY TO FACE MILLER’S FIRE , Tue, 21 Apr 2026Hall of Famer Rafael Marquez's son Aaron wins professional debut By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Tue, 21 Apr 2026Top Super Featherweights Tsendy Erdenebat & Cobia Breedy Battle in 10-Round Main Event of ProBoxTV’s ‘The Contender Series’ at Live! Casino Hotel Maryland , Tue, 21 Apr 2026Registration Now Open for the Return of the Butterfly Brawl at the Iconic Santa Monica Pier – August 22, 2026 , Tue, 21 Apr 2026Brackets Set for USA Boxing Elite High Performance Team at World Boxing Cup - Stage One , Tue, 21 Apr 2026Team Altagracia Primus Praedia Land Holding champ in Pacquiao chess By Marlon Bernardino, , Tue, 21 Apr 20262-Division World Champion Daniel Ponce De León Confirmed for Ninth Annual Box Fan Expo, During Cinco De Mayo Weekend, Saturday May 2, in Las Vegas , Tue, 21 Apr 20262026 NBA Playoffs: First Round Game 1 Recap By Reylan Loberternos, , Mon, 20 Apr 2026FIDE Master Ivan Travis Cu gains a total of 36 rating points, bringing his FIDE rating to 2321 by May after completing 2 chess tournaments in Spain By Marlon Bernardino, , Mon, 20 Apr 2026Irish super middleweight prospect Tommy ‘The Governor’ Hyde Improves to 15-0 with 10th KO , Mon, 20 Apr 2026IBA Bare-Knuckle Director attends historic Gambian Elite National Championships , Sun, 19 Apr 2026Rosales stops Obedencio in RFL 4 By Lito delos Reyes, , Sun, 19 Apr 2026Atty. Aldwin Alegre shines in 23rd Bangkok Chess Club By Marlon Bernardino, , Sun, 19 Apr 2026Suslenkov knocks out Mann to headline explosive IBA Pro 16 night in Serpukhov , Sat, 18 Apr 2026AJ Manas off to a hot start in Indonesia By Marlon Bernardino, , Sat, 18 Apr 2026Camila Zamorano WBC female champion health update By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Sat, 18 Apr 2026PH Athletics team shines in the 2026 Singapore Open Track and Field Championships By Marlon Bernardino, , Sat, 18 Apr 2026JESSE RODRIGUEZ CHALLENGES ANTONIO VARGAS FOR WBC BANTAMWEIGHT WORLD TITLE IN GLENDALE ON JUNE 13 , Sat, 18 Apr 2026WEIGH-IN RESULTS AND PHOTOS FROM SD FIGHT NIGHT: FAMILY BUSINESS - TOMORROW, APRIL 18 AT FRONTWAVE ARENA IN OCEANSIDE, CALIF. , Sat, 18 Apr 2026OFFICIAL ‘REVOLUTION’ WEIGHTS FROM CORK, IRELAND , Sat, 18 Apr 2026MIKHAIL GRIGORYAN DEFEATS JEO SANTISIMA, CROWNED NEW IBF ASIA LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION IN SERPUKHOV By Dong Secuya, , Sat, 18 Apr 2026Ra’eese Aleem Vows Victory Over Angelo Leo Ahead of May 9th IBF Title Fight in Atlanta , Sat, 18 Apr 2026WCM Nika Juris Nicolas 10th in Serbia By Marlon Bernardino, , Sat, 18 Apr 2026JESSE ‘BAM’ RODRIGUEZ PENS LONG TERM EXTENSION WITH EDDIE HEARN AND MATCHROOM , Sat, 18 Apr 2026Hermie Rivera: A Fil-Am Original By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT, , Fri, 17 Apr 2026 |

|
|
|
|
|