----- Jerami Grant scored a team-high 27 points and Justise Winslow finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, and six assists as the Portland Trail Blazers improved to 9-3 on the season with a 106-95 victory over the Pelicans Thursday night at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA.
The Trail Blazers surprising start to the season continued Thursday night in New Orleans!
Jerami Grant scored a team-high 27 points, Anfernee Simons finished with 23 points and six assists, and Justise Winslow added 12 points, eight rebounds, and six assists as the Portland Trail Blazers improved to 9-3 with a 106-95 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.
The Blazers were without Damian Lillard (calf), Shaedon Sharpe (finger), Jusuf Nurkic (abductor), and Keon Johnson (hip).
Chauncy Billups started Drew Eubanks and Winslow next to Simons, Josh Hart, and Grant.
Zion Williamson scored 29 points and Trey Murphy III added 16 for New Orleans. Brandon Ingram scored 14 points but fouled out with 3:32 to go. CJ McCollum finished with 13 points on 6-of-17 shooting.
Portland took its first double-digit lead with an 11-2, fourth-quarter run that included a three-pointer by Winslow and a jumper by Grant. The run extended their lead to 89-79. New Orleans struggled to close the gap after that.
The Blazers finished with 25 assists and scored 21 points off of 17 Pelicans turnovers.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers finish their six-game road trip Saturday in Dallas against the Mavericks. The game is scheduled to tip off at 5:30 PM.
Chad's Take- Red Hot & Rolling!