McCollum scores 34 as Trail Blazers beat Nets 112-104
CJ McCollum scored 34 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Brooklyn Nets 112-104 for their sixth straight win.
McCollum’s corner 3-pointer put the Trail Blazers ahead for good with 1:56 left in the fourth quarter.
The Nets got within 107-104 on Brook Lopez’s three-point play with 1:14 to play, but Mason Plumlee answered with a free throw, and the Nets got no closer.
Damian Lillard’s 2 free throws with 26.4 seconds left made it 110-104 and put it away.
During clutch time, the Trail Blazers outscored the Nets 17-6. Lillard (No. 3 in clutch wins added, 2015-16) scored 11 of the Trail Blazers’ 17 on 4 for 4 shooting and 2 for 2 at the line. Late in the fourth quarter, Lopez had 2 of his 4 steals, one of them leading to Joe Johnson’s turnaround jumper that tied the game at 101, and the Nets scored 2 points off them. In that stretch, Plumlee had 4 of his 5 assists, 2 of them on baskets by Lillard and McCollum that put the Trail Blazers ahead. With 4:32 left, Lillard stole the ball from Shane Larkin, and his driving dunk off it put the Trail Blazers ahead 97-96.
Lillard had 34 points (15 in the fourth quarter) and 3 steals. Lillard scored 15 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter. The Trail Blazers had 2 30-point scorers.
For the Nets, Lopez had a season-high 36 points, 10 rebounds and 4 steals on 16 for 24 shooting.
The Trail Blazers shot 50.0% from the field and 43.5% from 3 to the Nets’ 47.8% and 25.0%. The Nets outscored the Trail Blazers 25-15 in 8 minutes with Johnson, Young, Lopez, Sloan and Bogdanovic on the floor together.