Damian Lillard’s season-high 39 points guide Blazers by 76ers
Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center on November 09, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images/AFP
Damian Lillard scored a season-high 39 points and CJ McCollum added 18 as the Portland Trail Blazers recorded their third straight win, beating the visiting Philadelphia 76ers 118-111 on Saturday.
Norman Powell scored 17 points, Jusuf Nurkic had 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Nassir Little added 11 points for the Blazers, who shot 50 percent from the field and won their eighth straight home game.
Article continues after this advertisement⌚️ @Dame_Lillard's all-around game lifts the @trailblazers.
39 points (season high)
7 assists
5 threes
3 blocks pic.twitter.com/RrpypenU2V— NBA (@NBA) November 21, 2021
Tobias Harris tallied 28 points and eight rebounds while Tyrese Maxey added 28 points and nine assists for Philadelphia. Georges Niang had 15 points and Seth Curry 10.
The shorthanded Sixers shot 10 of 28 (35.7 percent) from 3-point range and have lost six of seven following a six-game winning streak.
Article continues after this advertisementPhiladelphia star Joel Embiid missed his seventh straight game since entering the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols. The Sixers were also without Danny Green (left hamstring) and Ben Simmons (personal reasons).
Playing the fourth of six straight road games, Philadelphia trailed 86-78 after scoring 14 of the final 18 points of the third quarter.
Harris scored to cut the deficit to 97-95 with 6:18 left in the game before the Blazers responded with 10 straight points.
Maxey converted a three-point play to pull the Sixers within 105-100 with 3:58 remaining, but Portland answered again and moved ahead 114-108 on Powell’s layup with 48 seconds left.
Lillard made five 3-pointers and had seven assists for the Blazers, who avenged a 113-110 loss to Philadelphia on Nov. 1. He made all 14 of his free-throw attempts, including two to seal the victory with nine seconds left.
Portland led 30-25 at the end of the first quarter behind Lillard’s 12 points. The Sixers shot 3 of 15 (20 percent) from 3-point range in the opening half and trailed 55-46 at the break.
Lillard and McCollum combined for 35 points in the first half for Portland, which moved ahead 82-64 after Anfernee Simons hit a 3-pointer with 3:19 left in the third quarter to cap a 12-3 run.
Sixers guard Matisse Thybulle returned after missing seven games due to health and safety protocols and scored nine points in 21 minutes off the bench.
