----- The Portland Trail Blazers finish the game on a 12-4 run to edge the Brooklyn Nets 127-125 Friday afternoon at The Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
After struggling with six turnovers in Wednesday's loss at Philadelphia, Jusuf Nurkic knew it was time to step his game up and that is exactly what he did Friday afternoon in Brooklyn. Nurkic scored a season-high 29 points to go along with 15 rebounds, four blocked shots, and just one turnover. Nurkic provided great defense and rebounding during the Blazers 12-4 run in the final 2:20 of the fourth to secure the win.
With 30.6 seconds left, DeMarre Carroll blocked a Nurkic layup attempt and Caris LeVert grabbed the rebound. But before LeVert could get a pass off, Nurkic stole the ball away and flipped in a one-handed shot while being hacked by Spencer Dinwiddie. The Blazers' bench went wild while Nurkic pounded his chest.
Portland (11-8) leaned on their stars for their offense today. Along with Nurkic, Damian Lillard scored a game-high 34 points and added nine assists while CJ McCollum added 26 points and five assists. The Blazers connected on 50% of their field goals and turned the ball over a season-low seven times.
Broolyn (6-12) had eight players score in double-figures. Spencer Dinwiddie led the way with 23 points and six assists.
Next up- The Trail Blazers travel to Washington, D.C. to meet the Wizards. Game is scheduled to tip off at 4:00 PM.
Chad's take- Aside from Nurkic, the best thing to come out of the game today was the Trail Blazers improvement on offense. Portland did a much better job of spacing the floor today which allowed for better player movement and ball movement. Jusuf Nurkic also added a wrinkle by facilitating the offense from the elbow. I would like to see more of this moving forward because Nurkic is a terrific passer.