Trail Blazers 108, 76ers 105
PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Portland Trail Blazers got some revenge and a valuable victory in the NBA playoff chase on Saturday night, defeating the Philadephia 76ers 108-105 at Moda Center.
But it was anything but easy.
Guard CJ McCollum's 25 points led five Trail Blazers in double figures in a near wire-to-wire win that got scary in the fourth quarter after the Sixers came from 16 points down to take the lead.
McCollum snapped a 105-105 tie when he broke through a double-team, drove to the rim, scored and was fouled with 7.6 seconds left. His free throw for a three-point play gave the Blazers a three-point lead.
Portland intentionally fouled forward Jerami Grant on his inbounds catch. and Grant missed both free throws, including the second one when he banged the ball off the backboard without it hitting the rim.
Time ran out with the 76ers attempting to steal the ball in the backcourt.
Hollis Thompson, Ish Smith and Robert Covington paced Philadelphia with 17 points apiece.
Portland, sixth in the Western Conference, improved to 38-36 and moved 1 1/2 games ahead of idle Houston (36-37) and Utah (36-37), which beat Minnesota 93-84 in Minneapolis. Idle Dallas (35-37) is ninth in the West.
The 76ers lost their eighth consecutive game and 12th in a row on the road and fell to 9-64, the worst record in the league.
For Portland, Al-Farouq Aminu had 20 points, Moe Harkless and Damian Lillard each scored 16 and Gerald Henderson contributed 11 points.
The Blazers had suffered one of their worst losses of the season at Philadelphia, losing 114-89 2 1/2 months ago.
But the 76ers' only leads in the rematch were at 1-0 and 3-2 -- until Portland went cold in the fourth quarter and had to bring star guard Lillard off the bench to help pull out the win.
Portland is 15-3 in its last 18 home games.
Lillard's 3-pointer with 2:37 left gave Portland a 103-100 lead.
A 3-pointer by Thompson got Philly to within 104-103. After Harkless made a free throw with 46.5 seconds remaining, Smith nailed a 15-foot jumper to tie the score with 23.9 seconds to go.
Then it was McCollum's time to make the winning play, after he got a pass from double-teamed Lillard.
NOTES: Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts, a four-year college starter at Oklahoma (1976-80), was happy to talk before the game about his Sooners, who had just beaten Oregon in Saturday's NCAA Elite Eight. "I'm really happy for their players and coaches," said Stotts, who once worked as an assistant to Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger when both were with the Atlanta Hawks. The Sooners will meet Kansas or Villanova in the Final Four. "It's going to be tough," Stotts said. "Savor the moment now." ... Philadelphia F Nerlens Noel (bruised knee) was out. ... The Trail Blazers will play the rest of the season without F Meyers Leonard, who has pending shoulder surgery. "Since January, he was a big part of our success," Stotts said. "His effectiveness at both ends improved." ... Saturday's game marked the start of a key four-game homestand for the Trail Blazers, who could wind up anywhere from fifth in the NBA Western Conference playoff order or out of the postseason. The 76ers came in with the worst record in the league, but owned a victory over Portland, 114-89 on Jan. 16 at Philly. Portland will play host to Sacramento on Monday, Boston on March 31 and Miami on April 2. ... The Trail Blazers penciled in 20-year-old F Noah Vonleh for his 57th start of the season, but he came in averaging only 15.5 minutes per game, 10th on the team. His nine points at Philadelphia is only two shy of his high with Portland. ... The 76ers are 9-64, and 4-27 since beating Portland. ... Philadelphia started a totally different front court on Saturday than in the previous game with the Blazers, with 6-9 Carl Landry at center in place of injured Jahlil Okafor (knee), who had 25 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Portland. At the forward spots, the 76ers went with Hollis Thompson and Jerami Grant, who totaled three points in the previous meeting.