NBA: Damian Lillard’s triple-double powers Blazers past Pistons
Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers takes a first half shot against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on March 06, 2023 in Detroit, Michigan. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images/AFP
Damian Lillard recorded a triple-double of 31 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists, and the visiting Portland Trail Blazers pulled off a 110-104 victory on Monday night to hand the Detroit Pistons their eighth consecutive loss.
Jerami Grant supplied 26 points for the Trail Blazers, who have won two straight after a three-game losing streak. Cam Reddish added 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds, while Trendon Watford added 12 points and Drew Eubanks chipped in 10.
Isaiah Livers led seven Detroit players in double figures with 17 points. Cory Joseph had 14 points, Jaden Ivey contributed 13 with 13 assists and Alec Burks also scored 13 points.
post game Dame 🔥 w @brookeolzendam #RipCity pic.twitter.com/ZWtyp5wLAi
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) March 7, 2023
The Blazers played without starters Jusuf Nurkic and Anfernee Simons. Detroit was lacking a number of rotation players, including leading scorer Bojan Bogdanovic, Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes.
Lillard had 21 points and six assists in the opening half as the Trail Blazers established a 59-51 lead.
Portland scored the game’s first 10 points, including eight by Lillard. A Marvin Bagley III layup nearly four minutes into the contest put Detroit on the board.
A 7-0 spurt that included five Lillard points gave the Blazers a 24-11 lead. Portland also finished the quarter on a 7-2 run for a 31-18 lead.
The Blazers continued to maintain a double-digit advantage for most of the second quarter. Lillard nailed a 3-pointer with 4:35 left for a 50-33 lead.
The Pistons suddenly caught fire, scoring the next 11 points. Ivey had four points and two assists during that stretch. Portland outscored Detroit 9-7 for the remainder of the half.
The Blazers’ lead fluctuated between 6-11 points until Eubanks’ three-point play gave Portland a 72-60 lead with 8:07 left in the third quarter.
Lillard’s first basket of the second half made it 77-62. Grant then took over, scoring the Blazers’ next nine points to stretch the advantage to 19 points. Detroit cut it to 89-74 by the end of the quarter.
The Pistons moved within 10 points, 91-81, before Lillard answered with a 3-pointer.
With Portland up 105-90, the Pistons reeled off nine straight points. Grant then knocked down a corner 3-pointer to stifle Detroit’s rally.
