----- Kevin Durant scored a game-high 35 points and Royce O'Neale recorded a triple-double 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists including the go-ahead bucket with 0.7 remaining as the Brooklyn Nets topped the Portland Trail Blazers 109-107 Thursday night at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
After back-to-back blowout losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings, the Brooklyn Nets stopped the bleeding Thursday night Portland.
Kevin Durant scored a game-high 35 points and Royce O'Neale recorded a triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists as the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 109-107 Thursday night at Moda Center.
O'Neale scored the game-winning bucket with 0.7 remaining in the game with a tip-in off a missed pull-up jumper from Durant.
The Blazers final prayer was left unanswered after a lob pass to the rim was redirected by the Nets defense securing the win for Brooklyn.
The Blazers offense struggled in the fourth quarter going 7:59 without a field goal while scoring just eight points during that stretch. The Nets defense suffocated Portland's attack limiting ball movement and player movement.
"Just too many tough looks. I thought we lost our trust a little bit in the pass there in the fourth quarter," Blazers Coach Chauncy Billups said after the game. "We stopped passing it, started chasing matchups which was great, but we was getting them and just kind of standing and watching the iso, which is not how we like to play."
Damian Lillard finished with 25 points and 11 assists but connected on just 8-of-24 from the field including an abysmal 3-for-12 from beyond the arc. Anfernee Simons scored 24 points on 8-of-20 shooting, and Jusuf Nurkic added 17 points and eight rebounds.
With 3:28 left, the Blazers began intentionally fouling Simmons. The career 59% free-throw shooter went 3-of-4 during the crucial series to preserve a 103-99 lead for the Nets.
Durant split a pair of free-throws to make it 106-103. Jusuf Nurkic was fouled by Durant on a layup with 6.5 seconds left and Nurkic converted the three-point play to tie it at 107.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers host the Utah Jazz Saturday night at Moda Center. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.
Chad's Take- Disappointing effort against a struggling team.