----- Marcus Morris scored 30 points as the Boston Celtics dealt the Blazers their second-straight loss with a 105-100 win Friday night at Moda Center.
Marcus Morris scored 30 points as the short-handed Boston Celtics handed the the Portland Trail Blazers their second-straight loss after a 13-game winning streak. Marcus Smart, Kyrie Irving, and Jaylen Brown all missed the game due to injury.
The Blazers led by as much as 12 points in the third quarter, but the Celtics continued to grind and eventually took the lead at 85-84 with 6:30 to play on a Morris three-pointer. The Blazers collapse came in the fourth quarter when they were outscored 38-23. Portland shot just 36% from the floor in the fourth on 9-for-25 shooting including 1-for-9 from three-point range.
''We had a little conversation at the start of the fourth and said to each other, `If we come out strong and get this (lead) down we've got a great chance to come back and win this game,''' Morris said.
Portland (44-28) struggled to make shots connecting on just 24.2% of their shots from downtown on 8-for-33 shooting. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum each scored 26 points to lead the Blazers and Al-Farouq Aminu added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Boston's bench outscored Portland's bench 26-13 with the Blazers' reserves combining to go 0-for-10 from three-point range. The win was the third-straight for the Celtics in the series and gave them the two-game season sweep.
NEXT UP- The Trail Blazers will play the first of a three-game road trip Sunday in Oklahoma City against the Thunder. The game is scheduled to tip off at 4:00 PM.
Chad's Take- Losing to the Celtics at home without Kyrie Irving while giving up 38 points in the fourth quarter = a big bowl of wrong.