McCollum Records First Career Triple-Double in 120-111 win over Atlanta

C.J. McCollum took advantage of Damian Lillard’s night off and filled up the stat sheet in Portland’s 120-111 win at home against Atlanta.

McCollum started off hot with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists through the first quarter of action. The Lehigh product finished the game with his first career triple-double with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

The only problem for Portland? After the first 24 minutes of action the Blazers were trailing 64-63 to the visitors. Turnovers were a big reason for the halftime deficit. Portland had 11 turnovers through one half versus just four turnovers by the Hawks.

Injuries also bothered the home team tonight. As mentioned, Lillard got the night off–officially due to right knee sorenss–and Seth Curry started in his place. Curry made the most of his 32 minutes with 22 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.

Evan Turner and Nik Stauskas each played a bit in the second quarter, but neither saw the court in the second half. Turner didn’t return due to left Achilles soreness, while Stauskas wouldn’t return because of left knee soreness.

The Blazers starters picked up the slack with no Lillard and minimal time for Turner. McCollum and Curry were the only Portland players to cross the 20-point threshold, but the other three Blazer starters scored at least 15 points.

Jusuf Nurkic wracked up 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals. Al-Farouq Aminu filled the box score as well with 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. Maurice Harkless was a solid seven-for-11 from the floor for 16 points with five rebounds, one block and one steal.

Next up, Portland will host the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night in the Moda Center.

Notable Information

• C.J. McCollum’s triple-double is the 61st in Trail Blazers history.
• The last time two Portland players recorded a triple double in the same season was in 1988-89. (Jusuf Nurkic recorded a triple-double on Jan. 16)
• Portland is now 31-0 when leading after three quarters.
• The Blazers are 12-0 when Seth Curry scores at least nine points.

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