McCollum Scores 50 in Three Quarters, Blazers beat Bulls

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Published on February 1 2018 6:17 am
Last Updated on February 1 2018 6:17 am

By ESPN

PORTLAND, Ore. -- CJ McCollum had inspiration for his 50-point game: His 92-year-old great aunt was visiting Portland for the first time.

He gave her quite a show.

McCollum scored a franchise-record 28 points in the first quarter before finishing with a career-high 50 through three, and the Portland Trail Blazers took advantage of the short-handed Chicago Bulls for a 124-108 victory Wednesday night.

"During the game I was thinking, she probably thinks this is a really good game to come to," he said, laughing.

McCollum's 28 points in the opening quarter were the most by an NBA player this season. His final tally was nine points shy of the team record set by Damian Lillard last season.

"I'm not into chasing records, man. I just want to win," McCollum said. "Even throughout the game, I looked up and I was like, I can get 40. And then Ed (Davis) was like, `No, you need 50.' And Dame was like, `Get 50.' So I was like, `OK, I'll get 50 if you guys want me to."

Lillard also sat out the final period after adding 13 points and seven assists for the Blazers, who led by as many as 29. It was Portland's fourth straight win overall, a season high, and the club's eighth in a row at home.

Zach LaVine had a season-best 23 points in Chicago's fifth consecutive loss.

Lauri Markkanen was not with the Bulls because he was attending to a personal issue, the team said. The rookie is averaging 15.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Paul Zipser started in his place.

Kris Dunn, averaging 13.7 points and 6.4 assists, missed his sixth straight game after a concussion.

The Bulls decided to sit forward Nikola Mirotic while he reportedly seeks a trade. Coach Fred Hoiberg said before the game that the 6-foot-10 forward remained back at the team hotel. Meanwhile, rumors swirled that the Bulls had a deal with the Pelicans but it fell apart.

Portland shot 74 percent in the first quarter paced by McCollum, who made four 3-pointers in the period and finished with six for the game.

"I don't know what the right word is, but a very impressive outing for CJ," Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "What he did in the first quarter was amazing. It was fun to sit back and watch that."

Pat Connaughton's 3-pointer put the Blazers up 54-28. McCollum punctuated the first half with a dunk, and the Blazers went into the break with a 67-44 lead.

McCollum finished the half with 32 points, one shy of Lillard's franchise record.

"I thought we had some good looks early, we didn't make them, and then you have to guard. That's kind of been the story of these slow starts, letting teams get comfortable and in a rhythm," Hoiberg said. "Our game plan was to come out, try to blitz him (McCollum). He was splitting our double teams and obviously made tough shots. Give him credit for coming out of the game and setting the tone."

After he sat down in the third quarter, McCollum smiled when the crowd chanted "We want CJ!"

"I was thinking, I hope I don't have to go back in," McCollum said. "That means we're not playing the way we should be playing. There was a lot of love tonight, and I appreciate it."

The Blazers did lose center Jusuf Nurkic in the fourth quarter to injury. Afterward, they said it was a bruised left quad.

Lillard went into the game needing 25 points to reach 10,000. He'll be the seventh Blazers player to reach the mark, joining Clyde Drexler, LaMarcus Aldridge, Terry Porter, Cliff Robinson, Jerome Kersey and Jim Paxson.

Portland was coming off a 104-96 victory over the Clippers at Staples Center the night before.

TIP-INS

Bulls: Markkanen could rejoin the team on the road trip. ... Robin Lopez was greeted by warm applause at the Moda Center. Lopez was a fan favorite during his time with the Blazers from 2013-15. ... The Bulls were coming off a 110-96 loss at home to Milwaukee on Sunday.


Pacers 105, Grizzlies 101

Myles Turner returned to the Pacers' starting lineup merely hoping to put together a performance he could build on.

But with 34 seconds left in the game, Turner found himself at the foul line putting an exclamation point on his best game of the season.

"I'm not missing," Turner said he thought to himself.

The third-year big man made both free throws, giving Indiana the lead Wednesday night in a 105-101 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Turner had his fourth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. He also blocked three shots against a Memphis team that only had nine players available.

The win was Indiana's third straight and fifth in six games.

"You've got to commend the Grizzlies with the way they played," Turner said. "But at the same time, we've got to be able to put our foot down, put our foot on the gas, get going from the jump on a team like that. You've got to jump out on teams. It's good to get this win, but you want to build off this one and learn from this one as well."

Turner has missed 16 games due to injury this season, including nine straight in January. Once he got healthy, he came off the bench for two games before returning to the starting lineup against the Grizzlies.

He jumped out aggressively from the start, scoring seven points in the first quarter and pulling down six rebounds.

All five Pacers starters ended up scoring in double digits. Bojan Bogdanovic and Darren Collison each had 21 points, Victor Oladipo added 13 and Thaddeus Young had 10.

The teams traded the lead nine times in the first half, with Indiana taking a 55-53 lead into halftime. The Pacers opened the second half with a 9-3 run, but Memphis wouldn't go away. Trailing 100-95, the Grizzlies went on a 6-0 spurt to regain the lead with 1:57 to play.

After Turner's late free throws gave the Pacers a 102-101 lead, Memphis had multiple opportunities to answer back. Marc Gasol's 11-foot jumper with 15 seconds left was rebounded by Grizzlies teammate Wayne Selden. With less than three seconds remaining, Selden drove the lane and attempted a floater in heavy traffic. More than two Pacers were there when Selden went up for the shot, but it was partially blocked by Cory Joseph and the Pacers grabbed the rebound and sealed the game at the foul line.

Gasol finished with 23 points and nine rebounds. Selden led the Grizzlies with 24 points but was ejected with 0.7 seconds remaining after arguing he was fouled on his missed shot. Memphis coach J.B. Bickerstaff came onto the floor to join Selden in his altercation with officials.

"It's frustrating. (I was) looking for some consistency," Bickerstaff said. "He attacks the basket, puts himself in a position to be fouled, goes strong to the basket, didn't get the whistle."

Still, Bickerstaff was pleased with his team.

"You can't take anything away from their effort," he said. "This was just another example of the fight that's in that group."

 

Wednesday, January 30 Scoreboard

Indiana 105, Memphis 101

Orlando 127, Los Angeles Lakers 105

Charlotte 123, Atlanta 110

Brooklyn 116, Philadelphia 108

Cleveland 91, Miami 89

Boston 103, New York 73

Portland 124, Chicago 108

Phoenix 102, Dallas 88


Thursday, February 1 Schedule (All Times Central)

Memphis at Detroit, 6 p.m.

Toronto at Washington, 6 p.m.

Milwaukee at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Houston at San Antonio, 7 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Denver, 9:30 p.m.


Friday, February 2 Schedule (All Times Central)

Indiana at Charlotte, 6 p.m.

Atlanta at Boston, 6:30 p.m.

Los Angeles Lakers at Brooklyn, 6:30 p.m.

Portland at Toronto, 6:30 p.m.

Miami at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

New York at Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

New Orleans at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.

Utah at Phoenix, 8 p.m.

Golden State at Sacramento, 9:30 p.m.


Saturday, Feburary 3 Schedule (All Times Central)

Chicago at Los Angeles Clippers, 2:30 p.m.

Miami at Detroit, 6 p.m.

Philadelphia at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Washington at Orlando, 6 p.m

Houston at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.

New Orleans at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

Utah at San Antonio, 8 p.m.

Golden State at Denver, 8 p.m.

Dallas at Sacramento, 9 p.m.


Sunday, February 4 Schedule Schedule (All Times Central)

Portland at Boston, 11 a.m.

Milwaukee at Brooklyn, 11 a.m.

Atlanta at New York, 11 a.m.

Memphis at Toronto, 11 a.m.

Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City, 1 p.m.

Charlotte at Phoenix, 2 p.m.