Trail Blazers 112, Nets 104
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Guards CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard each scored 34 points to lift the Portland Trail Blazers to a 112-104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night at the Moda Center.
Lillard scored 22 in the second half for the Trail Blazers, who won their sixth consecutive game and 11th in the past 12 outings.
Center Brook Lopez scored a season-high 36 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Nets, who lost their seventh straight road game. Forward Joe Johnson added 19 points and eight boards for Brooklyn, which led by three points midway through the fourth quarter.
McCollum scored 21 points and Lillard added 12 as Portland carried a 63-49 lead into intermission. Lopez had 16 points on 8-for-12 shooting for Brooklyn by halftime.
The Nets (15-42) used a 19-6 run to close the gap to 83-82 late in the third quarter. McCollum scored at the buzzer, and Portland carried an 85-82 lead into the final period.
Brooklyn took the lead at 88-87 on a Lopez layup with 9:50 to play. Guard Markel Brown's 3-pointer increased the Nets' advantage to 91-89, and a three-point play by Lopez made it 96-93 with 6:13 left.
Lillard converted a layup to get the Blazers (30-27) within 96-95 with 4:49 to play, then scored on a breakaway dunk for a 97-96 lead with 4:25 to go. Lopez made one of two at the line to pull the Nets even at 97-97 with 4:01 remaining. McCollum's jumper gave Portland a 99-97 lead, but Johnson evened the count with a pair at the line with 3:32 left.
Lillard's layup pushed the Blazers in front 101-99, but Johnson scored on a post-up to even it at 101-101. McCollum's 3-pointer with 1:59 left gave Portland a 104-101 lead, and Lillard followed with another trey to make it 107-101 with 1:25 to go.
Lopez converted a three-point play to cut the gap to 107-104 with 1:14 remaining. Portland center Mason Plumlee hit one of two at the line to boost the margin to 108-104, and Lillard wrapped things up with four straight foul shots.
Portland used an 11-0 run to seize a 24-14 lead. With McCollum providing 13 points, the Blazers took a 34-21 advantage into the second quarter.
The Blazers extended the difference to 50-31 midway through the second quarter. They settled for a 14-point edge at the break.
NOTES: Portland improved to 7-12 against Eastern Conference opponents. The Trail Blazers are 15-3 in their past 18 games, all three losses coming against East opponents. "I don't have any explanation, other than Toronto and Atlanta are both very good teams, and we didn't play very well against Philadelphia," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. ... With the circus making an extended run at the Barclays Center, the Nets began a stretch of nine consecutive road games. They don't play at home again until March 13. They are home for only eight of their final 26 games this season. "Being away from home this many days, you want to circle the wagons," Brooklyn coach Tony Brown said. "We have to stick together and put up our best fight." ... The Nets have won on only six of their 41 visits to Portland.