CJ McCollum guides Blazers past Pacers
FILE – CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers in action against the Sacramento Kings during the second quarter at Moda Center on October 20, 2021 in Portland, Oregon. Steph Chambers/Getty Images/AFP
CJ McCollum recorded 27 points, six assists and five rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers came from behind to notch a 110-106 victory over the visiting Indiana Pacers on Friday night.
Norman Powell scored 25 points and Robert Covington added 19 as Portland halted a three-game losing streak. Anfernee Simons had 16 points off the bench and Jusuf Nurkic registered 10 points and nine rebounds for the Trail Blazers.
T.J. McConnell scored 19 points and Myles Turner added 16 for the Pacers, whose two-game winning streak ended. Domantas Sabonis had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Caris LeVert and reserve Justin Holiday tallied 12 points apiece.
Indiana played without Malcolm Brogdon (non-COVID illness), an absence that elevated McConnell into the starting lineup.
Portland star Damian Lillard contributed 11 assists but had just four points on 2-of-13 shooting and missed all six of his 3-point attempts.
Lillard has struggled with his shooting all season. His latest shaky effort saw his field-goal rate drop to 33.7 percent and his 3-point rate dip to 21.7 percent (18 of 83).
Portland made 48.8 percent of its field-goal attempts and was 17 of 39 from 3-point range. Covington and McCollum each made five 3-pointers and Simons had four.
The Pacers connected on 48.9 percent of their shots, including 14 of 42 (33.3 percent) from behind the arc. Holiday had four treys.
The Trail Blazers trailed by nine with under five minutes remaining before scoring the next 12 points. McCollum’s driving hoop with 3:03 left gave Portland a 102-101 before Nurkic capped the burst with a dunk to make it a three-point margin with 2:30 left.
Covington sank two 3-pointers down the stretch, the second one giving the Trail Blazers a 110-106 lead with 14.7 seconds remaining. The Pacers never scored again.
LORD COVINGTON: CLUTCH pic.twitter.com/TqOvjBLAF7
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) November 6, 2021
Indiana took its first lead of the night at 72-71 on LeVert’s short jumper in the lane with 7:15 left in the third quarter.
Sabonis scored the period’s final basket on a layup as the Pacers took an 83-82 lead into the fourth quarter.
Simons buried two 3-pointers in a 39-second span of the fourth quarter to give Portland a 90-86 advantage with 8:48 to play.
Indiana answered with 11 straight points to move ahead 97-90 with 5:51 remaining. Turner knocked down a 3-pointer to cap the burst.
Turner hit a jumper to make it 101-92 with 4:48 remaining before the Trail Blazers went on the 12-0 run.
Portland led by 16 late in the second quarter, but Indiana scored the final 10 of the period to trail 59-53 at the break.
