Trail Blazers 123, Pacers 111
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum combined for 47 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 123-111 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night at the Moda Center.
Lillard scored 26 points and McCollum added 21 for the Trail Blazers (8-12), who lost three of their previous four games.
Forward CJ Miles scored 27 points for the Pacers (12-6), who saw the end to a six-game win streak. Forward Paul George, named early in the day as the Eastern Conference player of the month for November, finished with 11 points on 4-for-17 shooting, including 0 of 9 from 3-point range.
Guard George Hill scored 13 points and Miles 11 as Indiana carried a 59-56 edge into the half. Lillard and McCollum each had 12 points for Portland.
Portland scored the first six points of the third quarter to go on top 62-59 and increased it to 79-71 midway through the period. The Blazers rained in four straight 3's before forward Ed Davis' put-back made it 94-84 with 2 minutes left in the quarter. Portland finished with 41 third-quarter points on 14-for-24 shooting to take a 97-90 advantage into the final period.
Forward Meyers Leonard's hook shot upped the Blazers' advantage to 105-95, but the Pacers used an 8-0 run to slice the difference to 105-103. Crabbe sank back-to-back treys to hike the lead to 116-109, and center Mason Plumlee followed with a layup to make it 118-111 with 3:04 remaining.
Moments later, Plumlee's dunk pushed the Blazers' edge to 120-111, and it was over.
Indiana jumped to a 10-0 lead a minute and a half into the game. The Pacers increased the margin to 28-16, but Portland closed the gap to 31-28 after one quarter.
The Blazers tied it at 35-35, but with forward Chase Budinger scoring 10 quick points, Indiana regained the lead at 54-47. Lillard keyed a 7-0 surge that got Portland even again at 54-54, and the Pacers took a three-point advantage into halftime.
NOTES: Indiana F Paul George played his first game since being honored as the Eastern Conference player of the month for November. It was George's first full month of play since knee surgery in August 2014. "Paul worked his tail off, both during the rehab process last year and in the summer, to get his game right," Indiana coach Frank Vogel said. ... After scoring at least 16 points in each of Portland's first 17 games this season, G CJ McCollum failed to hit that mark in the past two entering Thursday's game. ... Indiana came in having won six in a row and 12 of 14. The Pacers were looking for their first five-game road winning streak since April 2012 ... The Pacers, who beat the Clippers in Los Angeles on Tuesday, conclude their four-game road trip Saturday at Utah.