Off wins this season, the Nets are 8-2 against the spread with covers coming against the Kings (+6.5), Hornets (+6.5), Thunder (+12), 76ers (-7), Suns (+3.5), Knicks (+3.5), Mavericks (+3.5) and Magic (+7.5). And whenever Damian Lillard stopped, C.J. McCollum picked right up, whether it was firing three-pointers over Shane Larkin, cutting behind Joe Johnson, or splitting Brook Lopez’s pick-and-roll coverages. “I think that Chicago game still hangs around, and we came out and I think showed that we’re going in the direction we want to go in, and we feel like we have been going”.
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Portland, in the midst of a three-game East Coast swing, looked flat from the opening tip. “Philly maintained their pressure – full court, half court – and the shots we did get we didn’t make”.
Jahlil Okafor set the tone for this one early, hitting his first seven shots on the way to a stunning 17-point first quarter.
When asked it it was just one of those challenging nights that every team encounters during the grind of an 82-game schedule, Blazers coach Terry Stotts quickly shook his head. The offense is stagnating and Lillard sizes up Stephen Curry and starts to try to break him down as a ton of guards in the league do towards the end of the shot clock. “It was a really fun game to be a part of”.
Trail Blazers: Portland lost to Philadelphia for the first time in four straight matchups…. If we’ve had a game since then where we spent most of the fourth quarter in garbage time and it wasn’t our fault, I can’t remember it. Doing it to the now 18-25 Blazers on the second night of a back-to-back for Portland doesn’t exactly make us finals contenders, but it’s as sure a sign that the second half of our season is gonna be less depressing than our first as we’ve had thusfar.
Meanwhile, the Trailblazers are riding a three-game win streak following last night’s 116-104 win at Brooklyn.
It was the third consecutive victory for Portland (18-24), which is ninth in the Western Conference standings.
“It was good because now everybody else had an opportunity to believe [in themselves] a little bit more, and I got to rest”, Lillard said. “We’re not even a. 500 team, so losing on the road, that’s not a surprise”.
“I think in a positive way, there are no shortcuts to building winning franchises in the NBA”, Silver said. “I don’t think there’s much you can do about that”. “But we’ve got to learn and understand that any team can beat you on any night”. He would finish with 25 points as he slowed down later on in the game while the Blazers got better. The Golden State star scored 38 points, but Caldwell-Pope gave the Pistons a boost offensively.
Nicki Minaj, right, and Meek Mill, left, watch action from the sidelines during the first half of an NBA basketball game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Philadelphia 76ers, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, in Philadelphia.
Okafor received a huge ovation from the crowd when he went to the bench with 11 seconds left in the first. The Sixers rookie center made his first seven shots en route to finishing with 25 points to go with 10 rebounds.
Celtics 119, Wizards 117: Jae Crowder had a go-ahead layup with 3.9 seconds left off a pass from Marcus Smart, lifting Boston to the road win.
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The fact is, with Williams already entrenched at point guard, the Nets probably would never have taken Lillard had they kept the pick.
