Lillard leads Blazers to rout of Pacers
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Damian Lillard scored 28 points and handed out 10 assists as the Portland Trail Blazers held off a late surge by the Indiana Pacers to win 131-109 Wednesday night at Moda Center.
Moe Harkless matched his season high with 23 points, and CJ McCollum contributed 19 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Trail Blazers, who had six players score in double figures.
Jeff Teague collected 25 points and eight assists, and Myles Turner had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who cut a 28-point third-quarter deficit to 13 midway through the fourth period.
The Blazers shot 54.3 percent from the field, owned a 40-32 rebound advantage and committed only seven turnovers in the victory.
Portland (10-10) shot 63.8 percent and sank 8 of 12 attempts from 3-point range in running up a 73-58 lead going into the half. Lillard led five Blazers in double figures by the break with 18 points and eight assists, while Harkless chipped in 15 points. Turner had 15 points and six rebounds, and Teague 14 points and six assists for the Pacers.
McCollum came out smoking in the third quarter, scoring 15 of the Blazers' first 17 points as they increased the lead to 90-69. Soon it was 103-75. Portland's lead was 109-83 heading into the final period.
Indiana (9-10) scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter and cut the difference to 112-99 with 6:45 to play. That was as close as the Pacers were to get.
Portland missed its first five shots but soon took control, mounting a 27-15 lead. The Blazers settled for a 31-23 advantage heading into the second quarter.
An Evan Turner 3-point shot upped Portland's edge to 46-29 early in the second period. The Blazers carried a 15-point bulge into intermission.
NOTES: The game marked the first return as a head coach of Indiana's Nate McMillan, the Trail Blazers coach for 6 1/2 years (2005-12). McMillan was an assistant with the Pacers the past three seasons. "(Portland) is a great basketball town," McMillan said. "I told our guys, 'This building is a tough place to play. The fan base supports this team. They get into the game." ... Indiana was without F Paul George (ankle, back), who missed six of the Pacers' last seven games. McMillan said he hopes George can return for Indiana's next game -- Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers. ... The Pacers came into the game leading the NBA in forcing turnovers (16.9 per game) and steals (9.6), and ranked second in opponents' 3-point percentage (.328) and third in blocked shots (6.2). ... Portland entered the game last in the league in defensive efficiency rating (110.93) and 29th in opponents' scoring (113.7).