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The Portland Trail Blazers’ opening night was everything you could hope for, and more. Despite losing CJ McCollum to a one-game suspension, the Blazers blew out the Suns. Portland fell behind 9-2, then effortlessly came back to take an early lead, surging in the second, then quickly building the lead from 30 to 50 (!) before the benches fully cleared. The lead eventually reached 58 before the Suns bench closed the gap a bit late. Portland’s 124-76 victory was one of the largest opening-night margins in NBA history, and the largest ever for the franchise.
The Blazers were led by Damian Lillard’s 27 points and new-to-the-rotation Pat Connaughton, who scored 24 points on 9-14 shooting.
First Half Highlights:
Highlight: Blazers defense leads them to the 60-35 halftime lead. Stream the action live at https://t.co/Q7dncn6uxC #RipCity pic.twitter.com/ftE0r2YFeA
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) October 19, 2017
Second Half Highlights:
New season, new Fastball. pic.twitter.com/KeRrxpn6Ix
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) October 19, 2017
Ed doing Ed things. pic.twitter.com/qzF9gX5nFD
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) October 19, 2017
The rook's alright. pic.twitter.com/WRf6RRa9Cg
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) October 19, 2017
What’s Next:
The Blazers continue their season-opening road trip Friday night in Indiana, where they’ll play at 4:00 pm PT. But stay tuned tonight for more coverage of today’s game.