Lillard scores 50 as Blazers down Pacers

DAMIAN Lillard continued his scoring spree with 50 points, matched his season high of 13 assists and grabbed six rebounds to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 139-129 victory over the visiting Indiana Pacers on Sunday night. Lillard made 14 of 23 shots from the field -- including 8 of 12 from 3-point range -- to become the first player in franchise history to record three straight efforts of 40 points or more. Lillard has scored 158 points in the three games, beginning with a franchise-record 61 against Golden State on Monday and 47 against Dallas on Thursday. Lillard has made at least eight 3-pointers in each game and has 27 during the stretch. CJ McCollum scored 28 points and made six 3-pointers for the Trail Blazers after missing the previous three games because an ankle injury. Jeremy Lamb scored 28 points and Domantas Sabonis had 27 points, 14 rebounds and a career-best 11 assists for the Pacers, who lost for just the second time in their past nine games. Indiana dropped its 11th straight game at Portland. Kawhi again powers Clippers over Magic Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and Landry Shamet and Montrezl Harrell added 19 points each as the Los Angeles Clippers used a third-quarter charge to notch a 112-97 road victory Sunday over the Orlando Magic. Lou Williams scored 15 points as the Clippers improved to 4-1 on their season-long six game road trip. Leonard extended his career-long streak of 30-point games to eight. Michael Carter-Williams scored 15 points and Nikola Vucevic added 13 as the Magic lost their third consecutive game and fell for the fifth time in their last six games. Orlando lost twice to the Clippers in that stretch, falling 122-95 at Los Angeles on Dec. 16. The game started with multiple tributes to former Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant, who reportedly died in a helicopter crash Sunday just outside of Los Angeles. The teams acknowledged the Nos. 24 and 8 that Bryant wore during his career, with the Clippers taking a 24-second violation to open the game, followed by an eight-second backcourt violation by the Magic. Leonard scored 15 points in the third quarter alone as the Clippers started to distance themselves from a tight first half. Los Angeles led 54-52 at the break after trailing by as many as 11 points in the second quarter, then went on a 13-1 run early in the third quarter to take a 67-56 lead. Pelicans get 1st W with Zion as rookie notches double-double Zion Williamson had his first double-double and the New Orleans Pelicans won for the first time with him in the lineup, defeating the visiting Boston Celtics 123-108 on Sunday. Williamson had 21 points and 11 rebounds, Jrue Holiday scored a team-high 25 points, and Derrick Favors added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Lonzo Ball added a career-high 15 assists to go with eight points, while JJ Redick had 17 points and Brandon Ingram 16. All-Star guard Kemba Walker led the Celtics with 35 points, Gordon Hayward scored 23 points, and Jaylen Brown, returning from a two-game absence due to an ankle injury, added 20. Danny Theis chipped in with 15 points. The Pelicans pushed their 20-point halftime lead to 23 before the Celtics picked up their scoring pace. Walker scored 16 points and Brown had eight in the period as Boston closed within 91-81 by period’s end.