PORTLAND -- The Portland Trail Blazers pounced on visiting Oklahoma on Wednesday night (Thursday morning RP time), beating the Thunder, 136-119, at the Moda Center.
Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum scored 27 and 22 points, respectively, laying a solid ground work for the rout as the Blazers won two in a row by hitting 49 of 94 field goals, a stout 52.1 percent. Portland also swished 14 of 30 from 3-point distance (46.7 percent)
Carmelo Anthony added 19 points on an efficient 9-for-11 shooting. The 10-time All-Star has so far proven to be a serviceable piece for the Blazers. Anthony was signed to a partially-guaranteed $2.5 million contract last November 19 following the struggles of a 5-10 start.
Anthony's comes as no surprise to his teammates and to his good friend Chris Paul, who now plays for the Thunder after being traded from the Rockets this past off-season.
Melo's tough. Especially on that mid-post where he's built a career. He's one of the best to ever play...I always want to see him do well, except against us," Paul told reporters after OKC fell to 6-11 for the season.
The Trail Blazers, meanwhile, improved to 7-2, They hope to up their win streak to three when they host the skidding 6-13 Chicago Bulls tomorrow. The Thunder, on the other hand, heads back home to play and New Orleans Pelicans and get back on the winning track.
After taking a 63-50 halftime lead, the Blazers blitzed OKC in the third quarter 41-27, before coasting the rest of the way.
Abdel Nader led the Thunder with 23 points off the bench. Despite playing only 17 minutes, Nader nailed 7-of-9 shots and 3-of-4 triples.
Comments
Share your thoughts on the above article by Ryan Gallardo.