Pistons at Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard returned from a five-game absence due to an ankle injury and showed no hesitation while guiding the Portland Trail Blazers to a 118-109 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. Lillard and the Trail Blazers will try to make it two in a row when they host the Detroit Pistons on Friday.
Portland went 2-3 with Lillard and was happy to get 21 points and 10 assists from Lillard on Thursday, which marked the start of a three-game stretch against sub-.500 teams. "We need to win all three of them," Blazers coach Terry Stotts told reporters. "I'm not one to look too far out, I want to look at the next game. But these three games, after the stretch that we've had, (are) a little more important." The Pistons need to string some wins together as well and held on for a 115-114 win on Thursday against Charlotte after nearly squandering a 19-point, fourth-quarter lead. "We are content with getting the win," Detroit point guard Reggie Jackson told reporters. "It’s not the way we wanted to finish the game. Fortunately, we got the win. Unfortunately, we didn’t finish the way we want to. ... We have to learn to keep competing. We got to stop trying to waste time and just get through the game, but just continue to compete and be the best version of you for 48 minutes."
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, CSN Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE PISTONS (17-21): Detroit got a spark on Thursday from seldom-used center Boban Marjanovic, who exploded for a season-high 15 points and a career-high 19 rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. "He was phenomenal," Jackson told reporters of Marjanovic. "He was major man. What he did was special. He got second-chance points, kept the ball alive for us, and helped us get them in foul trouble. Everyone else got the chance to eat and get to the free-throw line all because of what he did. ... Hats off to just the performance that he had and the dynamic that he brought to the game." Jackson continued his own strong run with a second straight double-double in the win.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (16-22): Lillard's absence forced shooting guard C.J. McCollum to take on an even bigger role in the offense, and he continued to take over with 27 points and seven assists on Thursday. "With me not playing and him having much more responsibility - having to make plays and having to score, having the ball in his hands more - he’s thrived in that and played really well," Lillard told reporters of McCollum. "He’s been playing at a really high level." McCollum is averaging 30.5 points in the last six games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pistons C Aron Baynes (ankle) sat out the last two games and is day-to-day.
2. Portland C Mason Plumlee is averaging 16.3 points on 18-of-28 shooting in the last three games.
3. Detroit took the two meetings last season by an average of 18.5 points.