McCollum’s 50 in 3 quarters paces Blazers
CJ McCollum scored a franchise-record 28 points in the first quarter and finished with a career-high 50 through three periods before heading to the bench.
The Portland Trail Blazers bench took care of the rest, icing a 124-108 win over the visiting Chicago Bulls on Wednesday at the Moda Center.
McCollum’s 28 points in the opening quarter were the most in the NBA this season. His final tally was nine points shy of the team record set by Damian Lillard last season.
Lillard also sat out the final period for the Blazers, who led by as many as 29. It was Portland’s fourth straight win, a season high, and the club’s eighth win in a row at home.
It was the fifth straight loss for the Bulls. They were without forward Lauri Markkanen, attending to a personal issue, the team said. Chicago also decided to sit forward Nikola Mirotic, who reportedly is on the trade block, and point guard Kris Dunn missed his sixth straight game with a concussion.
Portland shot 74 percent in the first quarter, paced by McCollum, who made four three-pointers in the period. He finished the first half with 32 points, one shy of Lillard’s franchise record.
Celtics 103, Knicks 73: Guard Terry Rozier filled in nicely for Kyrie Irving, logging his first career triple-double in his first NBA start for host Boston. Rozier had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to become the second player in NBA history with a triple-double in his first start. Irving was sidelined by a bruised right quadriceps after he got hurt during Monday’s win in Denver. Enes Kanter had 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Knicks.
Cavaliers Jae Crowder 91, made Heat a 89: go-ahead LeBron three-pointer James scored with 24 points, 1:21 left and host Cleveland began a long stretch without All-Star forward Kevin Love by preventing the Heat from overtaking them for third place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Cavaliers played their first game since Love broke his left hand. It’s possible he’ll undergo an operation this week, and he’d be out for two months.
Nets 116, 76ers 108: Spencer Dinwiddie scored 27 points and D’Angelo Russell added 22 in his best performance since returning from knee surgery as host Brooklyn halted a four-game skid. Rookie center Jarrett Allen had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Nets. Joel Embiid had 29 points and 14 rebounds for Philadelphia, losers of three straight.
Magic 127, Lakers 105: Marreese Speights scored 21 points in his second start of the season and host Orlando ran away with it in the third quarter. Winning for only the fourth time in 24 games, the Magic made a franchiserecord nine threes in a 43-point third period.
Pacers 105, Grizzlies 101: Myles Turner had 15 points and 11 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup for host Indiana. Turner gave the Pacers a 102-101 lead by hitting two free throws with 34 seconds left. All five Pacers starters scored in double digits.
Hornets 123, Hawks 110: Kemba Walker hit nine threepointers and scored 38 points to lead visiting Charlotte. Dwight Howard had 20 points and 12 rebounds in his return to Atlanta after spending one season with his hometown Hawks, his second double-double in less than a week against the Hawks. Nicolas Batum had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for Charlotte.
Suns 102, Mavericks 88: Dirk Nowitzki had 14 points and 10 boards in visiting Dallas’ fifth straight loss, but the Phoenix win was overshadowed by Suns guard Isaiah Canaan breaking his left ankle as he fell awkwardly after a contested drive to the basket in the final seconds of the first quarter.