----- Damian Lillard scored a game-high 42 points and Anfernee Simons finished with 21 points and seven assists as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Atlanta Hawks 129-125 Monday night at Moda Center.
A better start combined with late execution led to a Trail Blazers win on Monday night.
Damian Lillard scored 42 points on 10-of-21 shooting including 17-of-17 from the foul line as the Portland Trail Blazers topped the Atlanta Hawks 129-125 at Moda Center. Lillard, who was named Western Conference player of the week, sunk two free throws with 3.1 seconds remaining to secure the win.
Anfernee Simons finished with 21 points including a three-pointer with 34.1 seconds remaining to give Portland a 124-121 lead they never relinquished.
Dejounte Murray scored a team-high 40 points for the Hawks and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 23 points off the bench.
The Trail Blazers connected on 54.4% of their shots including a sizzling 19-of-40 from the beyond-the-arc.
Portland (24-26) committed just eight turnovers and held a 14-2 edge in fast break points.
Notes- Rookie Shaedon Sharpe is continuing to make strides in his play. He finished with 10 points and four rebounds in 24 minutes of action. Josh Hart (hamstring) and Jusuf Nurkic (calf) both returned to action on Monday night after missing Saturday's game against Toronto. Trae Young (right ankle) did not play in the game.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers start a three-game road trip Wednesday in Memphis against the Grizzlies. The game is scheduled to tip off at 4:00 PM.
Chad's Take- A win is a win at this point. Team finishes up 6-game homestand at 3-3.