Damian Lillard’s 33 points power Blazers past Pistons
Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers drives to the basket against Isaiah Stewart #28 of the Detroit Pistons during the first half at Little Caesars Arena on March 31, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images/AFP
Damian Lillard scored 33 points and handed out 10 assists and the Portland Trail Blazers completed a sweep of a four-game road trip by downing the Detroit Pistons 124-101 on Wednesday.
CJ McCollum supplied 24 points and six assists for the Blazers, who finished with an 11-4 record in March. Robert Covington and Carmelo Anthony each scored 16 points. Norman Powell added 14 points with three steals, and Enes Kanter chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds.
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— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) April 1, 2021
Portland shot 51.2 percent from the field and went 16-for-30 on 3-point attempts.
Jerami Grant’s 30 points led the Pistons, who have lost five of their past six games. Hamidou Diallo contributed 19 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and Mason Plumlee had 18 points. Cory Joseph added 11 points and nine assists.
Article continues after this advertisementPortland led by eight midway through the first quarter, but Detroit finished the period with a 19-9 run to gain a 33-31 advantage.
The Pistons were still clinging to a slim lead, 52-51, at halftime. Grant led the way with 17 points and four assists in the first half. Covington topped the Trail Blazers with 11 points before the break.
"I feel like we're improving defensively and it's been a complete team effort. I just feel like we're complete right now and we still trending upwards."
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— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) April 1, 2021
Portland went on a 17-2 run early in third to gain a 68-56 lead. Lillard was the catalyst, scoring 10 points during that stretch, and Powell completed the run with a 3-pointer.
An Isaiah Stewart 3-pointer with four minutes left in the quarter cut the Blazers’ lead to 75-70.
Lillard drained a 3-pointer in the final minute of the third, but Tyler Cook answered with a three-point play, bringing Detroit within 87-79 entering the fourth.
Powell’s three-point play with 10:28 left made it 92-81. Covington drained a 3-pointer to nudge the lead to 12. McCollum had a fast-break layup moments later for a 97-83 advantage.
Lillard hit another 3-pointer with six minutes remaining, giving Portland a 104-89 lead. The Blazers were up double digits the rest of the way.
The teams will complete their two-game season series in Portland on April 10.
