CJ McCollum scored 31 points (13 in the fourth quarter), and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the New York Knicks 118-114.
Evan Turner’s 9-foot floater put the Trail Blazers ahead for good with 31 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Knicks got within 116-114 on Tim Hardaway Jr.’s 2 free throws with 33 seconds to play, but Turner answered with a putback, and the Knicks got no closer.
Damian Lillard’s 13-foot step-back jumper with 44.7 seconds left made it 116-112.
During clutch time, the Trail Blazers outscored the Knicks 12-11. Lillard (No. 9 in clutch points, 2018-19) scored 4 of the Trail Blazers’ 12 on 1 for 4 shooting and 2 for 3 at the line.
Lillard had 29 points (13 in the first quarter) and 8 assists, and Meyers Leonard added 15 points off the bench. Lillard and Jusuf Nurkić set each other up for 6 baskets and 13 points.
For the Knicks, Hardaway scored 32 points. Noah Vonleh had 14 points, 14 rebounds and 3 steals. Trey Burke scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter.
The Trail Blazers grabbed 14 offensive rebounds to the Knicks’ 10 and outscored them 16-4 off turnovers. The Trail Blazers’ starters were outscored 33-23 in 11 minutes together.