Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 26 points (18 on 6 3-pointers), and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 125-113.
Oubre’s free throw put the Hornets ahead for good with 3:28 left in the third quarter.
The Trail Blazers got within 92-90 on Jusuf Nurkić’s putback with 11:07 to play, but Gordon Hayward answered with a step-back 3-pointer, and the Trail Blazers got no closer than 95-92.
LaMelo Ball had 27 points (11 in the third quarter), 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Oubre scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter.
For the Trail Blazers, CJ McCollum had 25 points and 8 assists, and Damian Lillard went 2 for 14 from 3. Anfernee Simons scored 19 points on 6 for 9 shooting off the bench.
The Hornets shot 51.7% from the field and 47.6% from 3 to the Trail Blazers’ 44.3% and 31.5%. The Hornets made 20 3-pointers, 6 of them by Oubre and 4 by Terry Rozier. The Trail Blazers’ starters were outscored 44-32 in 15 minutes together.