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For the second time in five games, the Portland Trail Blazers grabbed control of a game early and never looked back, winning 110-95. Zooming to a 21-point halftime lead, the Blazers went into second-half autopilot, holding off the short-handed Knicks. With Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah all out, the Knicks fielded a squad of the NBA’s unknowns, leftovers, and Kristaps Porzingis. You can guess which player received all of Portland’s defensive attention. Meanwhile the Knicks didn’t seem to have any attention span on defense, leaving the Blazers repeatedly open for scoring opportunities. The Knicks mounted runs in the second half, but each time Portland calmly took back control.
With the win, Portland stays within one game of the Denver Nuggets, who beat the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday to keep hold on the West’s eighth playoff seed.
The Blazers spread around tonight’s scoring load, and were led by Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, Allen Crabbe, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Evan Turner.
Highlights
CJ no- for the #AssistOfTheNight! pic.twitter.com/kC9VcZ2mHf
— NBA (@NBA) March 24, 2017
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) March 24, 2017
Issa lay-up. pic.twitter.com/Hc0OCAv9Sp
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) March 24, 2017
V
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) March 24, 2017
O
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E
H pic.twitter.com/sPUOMohDtK
⏰ ⏰ pic.twitter.com/xGDrDZQKVX
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) March 24, 2017
Since @BleacherReport already named him the best shooter in the NBA, @CJMcCollum likes to show that he can pass with the best of them, too. pic.twitter.com/rwKtNXXIFB
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) March 24, 2017
Normal humans cannot do this. pic.twitter.com/gm8HFxV7dp
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) March 24, 2017
What’s Next
Another few nights at home for the Blazers, who host the Minnesota Timberwolves Saturday night. In the meantime, stay tuned for Eric Griffith’s recap of this game later tonight.