Lillard has 27 and the Blazers beat slumping Hornets
Portland Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless hangs from the rim after a dunk during the second half of the team’s NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. The Trail Blazers won 115-98. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)
PORTLAND, Oregon—Damian Lillard scored 27 points and the Portland Trail Blazers handed the Charlotte Hornets their fifth straight loss with a 115-98 victory on Tuesday night.
Allan Crabbe added 21 points off the bench for the Blazers, who have won four of their last five games.
Kemba Walker scored 22 points for the Hornets and moved into third place on the team’s career scoring list. Nicolas Batum, who spent his first seven seasons in Portland, added 18 points and eight rebounds.
Maurice Harkless dunked with 9:37 left in the game to give Portland a 94-72 lead and the Bobcats never challenged down the stretch. Portland led by as many as 24 points and had five players in double digits.
The Blazers have won nine consecutive home games against the Hornets.
Charlotte, playing the first game of a three-game road trip, was coming off a 109-106 loss at home to the Sacramento Kings.
The Blazers were coming off a 113-111 loss to the Golden State Warriors. But Portland had won its previous three games, and the team appears to be solving the defensive woes that have marked the first half of the season.
The Hornets were without Cody Zeller, who missed his fourth straight game with a thigh injury. Charlotte is 1-10 without him.
Portland’s Ed Davis missed his fifth straight game with a wrist injury, but could return Friday against the Mavericks.
The Blazers missed their first eight shots, a run that was broken by Lillard’s 3-pointer. He had 14 points in the opening quarter as the Blazers took a 30-23 lead. Crabbe’s 3-pointer extended Portland’s advantage to 37-24.
Batum’s fadeaway jumper pulled the Hornets to 46-40, but Al-Farouq Aminu answered with a 3-pointer for Portland. The Blazers took a 56-50 lead into the break, led by Crabbe with 16 points.
Portland opened the second half with an 11-2 run and pushed the margin to 78-60 after Lillard’s 3-pointer.
With his fifth point of the night, Walker passed Larry Johnson (7,405) and now has 7,423 points. Walker became a first-time All-Star this season when he was selected as an Eastern Conference reserve.
