Blazers Clampdown in OT, Finally Win at Moda Center 124-113 Over Hawks
The Portland Trail Blazers hadn’t started 0-1 at home for almost 20 years, but heading into Sunday they were 0-3 at Moda Center to start 2019.
The fourth quarter was hotly contested, and the teams traded the lead and ties until time ran out on a 107-107 tie game at the end of regulation.
The Blazers and Hawks struggled to start OT; Portland shot 0-for-3 to begin, Atlanta started 0-6 in OT. The Blazers would follow by making 6-of-8 (6-of-11 overall), while they held Atlanta to 2-for-10 overall in the extra session.
Former Atlanta Hawk Kent Bazemore nailed two threes to start Portland’s overtime scoring. Leading 113-107, the Blazers kept pushing.
CJ McCollum hit his first three, which sent the crowd into a frenzy and elicited a roar from McCollum himself. Mario Hezonja got his only points of the game on an and-one, which he converted the three-point play.
Damian Lillard led the Blazers with 30 points. McCollum and Hassan Whiteside were right behind with 23 and 21, respectively. Also, not to be forgotten, Anfernee Simons poured in 20 points in 24 minutes off the bench.
Next up, Portland plays at Sacramento on Tuesday on NBA-TV.