CJ McCollum does heavy lifting in Orlando as Damian Lillard sits out
Portland guard drains six three-pointers to tie his season-best
Tuesday 3 March 2020 09:50, UK
CJ McCollum matched his season-high with 41 points on Monday night, sending the visiting Portland Trail Blazers to a 130-107 victory over the Orlando Magic.
Playing without injured All-Star sidekick Damian Lillard, who has sat out five games with a groin injury, McCollum shot 14-for-24 overall and 6-for-12 on 3-pointers en route to the second-most points scored in Orlando by a Magic opponent this season.
James Harden had 54 points at Orlando in December.
McCollum, whose career-high of 50 came against Chicago in 2018, also totalled 41 in a game against Detroit last month.
"I just tried to be aggressive, last game of the trip," McCollum told NBC Sports after the game, referring to the three-game road trip that began with losses at Indiana and Atlanta. "We wanted to come away with at least one win, and we did."
Nikola Vucevic countered with a team-high 30 points for Orlando, but it wasn't nearly enough to prevent the Magic from losing their second straight after a three-game winning streak.
The Trail Blazers started strong in Orlando, using an early 15-4 run to turn a four-point deficit into a 35-28 lead at the end of the first quarter. McCollum had eight points, including a pair of three-pointers, in the quarter-ending burst.
McCollum was almost a one-man show for the first three periods, hitting five three-pointers and scoring 32 points despite constant attention from nearly every Magic defender on the floor.
But Gary Trent, subbing for Lillard, took over early the fourth and was the difference-maker in the game. He scored 14 points in the quarter, 11 of them while McCollum was taking a much-deserved rest on the bench.
"I thought in both the first and second half, when CJ was out, Gary obviously did a really good job," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "I like the way we moved the ball. We had a lot of shot-making. We just played a solid game from start to finish."
Trent was quick to heap praise on McCollum. "That's not surprising," Trent said of his teammates scoring outburst. "That's what CJ does day in and day out so when he comes in the game and makes it look as effortless and flawless as he does, it's no surprise."
Portland shot 55.7 per cent for the game, including 16 of 33 on three-point attempts.
Hassan Whiteside recorded a 16-point, game-high 13-rebound double-double for Portland, which swept the two-game season series from the Magic.
Gary Trent Jr. went for 24 points, Ariza 11, and Carmelo Anthony and Mario Hezonja had 10 apiece for the Trail Blazers, who outshot the Magic 55.7 per cent to 38.5 and made all 16 of their free-throw attempts.
Vucevic complemented his 30 points with a team-high 11 rebounds for Orlando, which began the day tied in the loss column with Brooklyn in their duel for the seventh and eighth playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
"That was incredibly disappointing," Magic coach Steve Clifford said. "Tonight was again, lacklustre defense. If we think we are gonna outscore people and make the playoffs or be a factor, we don't understand who we are."
Terrence Ross had 23 points off the bench for Orlando, while Evan Fournier totalled 13, James Ennis III 10 and Markelle Fultz seven to go with a game-high 10 assists.
