----- Enes Kanter finishes with 12 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks, three assists, and two steals filling in for the injured Jusuf Nurkic as the Portland Trail Blazers top the Atlanta Hawks 112-106 at Moda Center.
Blazers get the win, but the next couple of days will be tense in Rip City while they wait for the word on CJ McCollum's sprained left foot. An MRI confirmed the damage. No timetable has been set for his return.
McCollum scored 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range in 19 first half minutes. He did not return in the second half.
With McCollum sidelines, the Blazers got contributions from a variety of players. Damian Lillard scored a game-high 36 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists.
Enes Kanter got the start at Center in place of the injured Jusuf Nurkic (Fractured Right Wrist) and played his best game of the season finishing with 12 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks, three assists, and two steals.
Robert Covington scored just three points, but he pulled down 10 rebounds while adding three assists and Derrick Jones Jr. finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. Both played with great energy on the defensive end.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 18 points off the bench connecting on 4-of-8 from beyond-the-arc.
Portland led 98-94 with just under six minutes left after trailing by as many as 16 points in the opening half. Gary Trent Jr.'s three-pointer extended the lead to 101-96.
After a Clint Capela dunk, Trent hit another three and Lillard threw a lob pass to Derrick Jones Jr. for an alley-oop to put the Blazers in front 106-98 with 3:53 left.
With Blazers leading by two at 108-106, Lillard stepped up and drew a critical charge on a driving Trae Young with 15 seconds remaining. He followed that up with four consecutive makes at the free throw to seal the win for Portland.
Up Next- The Trail Blazes play a matinee game on Monday against the San Antonio Spurs at Moda Center. The game is scheduled to tip off at 12:00 PM.
Chad's Take- Gutty performance for a shorthanded team playing without Nurkic and McCollum.