Portland has one of the league’s most dynamic young backcourts with Damian Lillard and C.J. The Grizzlies beat the Bulls earlier Tuesday.
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But his willingness to endure the criticism and believe in the system he has honed over two decades of coaching has paid off, as Stotts’ teams have made more three-pointers than the year before in each of his four seasons in Portland. I think it’s the fact that we came back from whatever our record was in December and put together a run and stayed with the process and grew as a team. The notable offseason acquisitions like Al-Farouq Aminu, Maurice Harkless, Ed Davis, Mason Plumlee and Gerald Henderson have all panned out better than anyone would’ve thought. He has tallied at least 10 assists in 51 contests, a Sacramento record, and the most for the franchise since Nate Archibald set the team mark with 56 for the Kansas City-Omaha Kings during the 1972-73 season.DeMarcus Cousins led Sacramento with 30 points and added nine rebounds, etching his name into the record book, as well.
Clippers 103, Lakers 81: LOS ANGELES – Chris Paul scored 25 points and the Los Angeles Clippers their Staples Center co-tenants for the 10th straight time.
Portland hit 15 3-pointers against Oklahoma City to increase its season total to 844.
Stotts said the difference between the season’s first two months and the team’s post-Christmas play is simple. “I was trying to make things happen”.
Thunder 124, Nuggets 102: DENVER – Russell Westbrook had 13 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists to become the first player with 17 triple-doubles in a season in 27 years. Their offensive rebounding was also key. “People said we wouldn’t win 20 games”. Both teams have just six more games in the regular season, with the Warriors in a good position to soon clinch home court advantage through the postseason.
The Clippers are hoping to start the playoffs April 17, which would give them the option of holding as many as three practices beforehand after they close the regular season at Phoenix on April 13.
“Road wins are hard to come by”. To clinch a playoff spot, and still have a chance at the fifth seed in the Western Conference reinforced a belief in the Portland locker room that had been evident since summer when the team was assembled.
The Blazers needed somebody other than McCollum to step up and Moe Harkless obliged in the third quarter, scoring 14 points and recording a double-double after three quarters helping the Blazers lead 84-80.
There weren’t many experts who predicted that the Portland Trail Blazers would make the 2016 NBA Playoffs, let alone get seeded as high as fifth or sixth in the Western Conference. “But we can only worry about what we can do”, Harkless said.
Trail Blazers: Lillard shot 2 of 9 in the opening half, when he missed 4-of-5 3-point attempts….
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The Blazers (42-37) dominated the Kings 19-3 on the offensive glass and grabbed three in a row during one sequence late in the fourth quarter, the last of which led to McCollum’s 3-pointer that capped his 30-point night and finally put Sacramento away. Cousins, who already is scheduled to sit out Sacramento’s final two games for rest, would miss one of the two in which he is scheduled to play with a suspension if he picks up another one. It looks clear that Harkless will get a lot of playing time but it looks like the 9th man in the rotation is up for discussion.
