----- Damian Lillard scores 39 points and Anfernee Simons adds 16 points off the bench as the Portland Trail Blazers defeat the New York Knicks 116-113 Sunday night at Moda Center.
It's never easy for the Portland Trail Blazers!
The Portland Trail Blazers scored 70 points in the first half on 12-of-21 shooting from three-point range and led by as many as 25 points, but had to hold off a furious comeback by the New York Knicks for a critical 116-113 victory.
Damian Lillard scored a game-high 39 points, Derrick Jones Jr. finished with 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists, and Anfernee Simons broke out of his slump adding 16 points off the bench.
Lillard connected on 11 of his 17 shots including 6-of-10 from beyond-the-arc, and he broke his own franchise-record by connecting on 65 consecutive free throws. He was a perfect 11-of-11 at the line.
The Blazers were playing their first game in five-days after games against Memphis on Wednesday and Friday were postponed due to Covid-19 issues.
Immanuel Quickley led New York (8-10) with 31 points off the bench and Julius Randle recorded 25 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
The Knicks rallied in the third quarter, pulling within 82-69 on RJ Barrett's layup. They outscored Portland 27-19 and went into the final period trailing 89-77.
Quickley's 3 pointer got the Knicks within 96-91 with 7:13 remaining. Randle's layup narrowed it to 106-98 with 2:39 to go. Quickley hit three free throws to make it 106-102 with 1:33 left.
After Mitchell Robinson's dunk with 19 seconds left, Carmelo Anthony made a pair of free throws to extend Portland's lead to 112-106 and put the game away.
The Blazers scored just 46 points in the second half and made just 5-of-25 from three-point range.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers will play the second of a back-to-back tomorrow night at Moda Center against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM
Chad's Take- Nice to see Anfernee Simons bust out of his slump.