----- Jusuf Nurkic finished with 12 points, 20 rebounds, and six assists and Josh Hart added 23 points in his Portland debut as the Trail Blazers dropped the New York Knicks 112-103 Saturday afternoon at Moda Center.
What a debut for Hart!
In his first game since being acquired from the New Orleans Pelicans earlier in the week, Josh Hart scored 23 points as the Portland Trail Blazers made it back-to-back with a 112-103 victory over the New York Knicks.
Hart got the start and played 37 minutes. He connected on 7-of-12 from the field including 3-of-6 from three-point range.
Anfernee Simons scored a game-high 30 points to go along with five rebounds and eight assists. Simons made 6-of-12 from beyond-the-arc.
Hart and Simons got plenty of help from the rest of the roster. Jusuf Nurkic played one of his best games of the season. He finished with 12 points, 20 rebounds, and six assists. Nurkic was aggressive on both ends, showed great hustle, and played with intensity around the rim challenging the Knicks frontcourt.
Justise Winslow once again showed great hustle on defense challenging the Knicks while adding 14 points, five rebounds, and six assists and Ben McLemore poured in 17 points.
The Knicks dominated most of the game leading by as many as 23 points before the Blazers made a furious comeback. The Blazers used a 40-16 run and a 35-11 advantage in the fourth quarter to get the win.
Julius Randle led New York with 28 points, 16 rebounds, and six assists.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers will travel to Milwaukee to meet the Bucks on Monday. The game is scheduled to tip off at 5:00 PM.
Chad's Take- While fun, just remember that winning does not help this franchise right now.