----- Damian Lillard scored 44 points and dished out seven assists as the Portland Trail Blazers win their third-straight game with a 123-119 victory over the Sacramento Kings Thursday night at Moda Center.
Damian Lillard led Portland (21-14) with 44 points and seven assists and Enes Kanter recorded a double-double with 22 points and 21 rebounds as the Trail Blazers won their third-straight game with a 123-119 victory over the Sacramento Kings Thursday night at Moda Center.
The Blazers once again found plenty of help around Lillard contributing to the team's recent surge without Jusuf Nurkic and CJ McCollum in the lineup. Robert Covington continued his solid play with seven points, six rebounds, three steals, and three blocked shots and Carmelo Anthony added 16 points off the bench on 6-of-11 shooting.
Sacramento went up 108-103 with 3:49 to go on Harrison Barnes' layup and Buddy Hield's three-pointer, but Lillard responded with a pullup jumper, a layup and a pair of three-pointers to put the Blazers ahead 115-108 with just over a minute remaining.
This is the best start to a season through 35-games the the Trail Blazers since the 2014-2015 season.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers will get five-days off the the All-Star break before hosting the Phoenix Suns at Moda Center on March 11th. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.
Chad's Take- 21-14 is a sparkling first half record when considering all of the injuries. The good news- Nurkic and CJ's return is imminent.