----- CJ McCollum scores 34 points as the Portland Trail Blazers defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 108-105 Sunday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, OK.
The Trail Blazers had the perfect response to their collapse on Friday night against the Celtics, a huge road win at Oklahoma City.
CJ McCollum scored 14 of his game-high 34 points to lead the Blazers over the Thunder 108-105 Sunday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena. After Russell Westbrook hit a tough driving layup to tie the game 105-105 with 36.3 seconds left, McCollum swished a tough, contested 18-footer with 18.5 seconds remaining, giving the Blazers a 107-105 lead.
Portland raced to an 18-point first-half lead, but the Thunder battled back in the second quarter to make it a back and forth affair the rest of the way.
Jusuf Nurkic was strong on both ends of the floor finishing with 17 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Damian Lillard added 24 points and Maurice Harkless continued his solid play with 17 points and six rebounds.
''I thought it was a hell of a basketball game,'' Portland coach Terry Stotts said. ''You can tell this meant a lot to both teams. I thought we made a lot of good plays defensively. We were very good when we needed to be.''
Portland (45-28) not only swept the season-series with Oklahoma City, but extended their lead to two-games over the Thunder for third place in the Western Conference playoff standings.
NEXT UP- The Trail Blazers will travel to New Orleans to meet the Pelicans on Tuesday evening. The game is scheduled to tip off at 5:00 PM.
Chad's Take- The Bosnian Beast is back!