McCollum, Blazers blitz Bulls

[January 10, 2019]  CJ McCollum scored 24 points as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the visiting Chicago Bulls 124-112 Wednesday night.

Jusuf Nurkic collected 18 points and eight rebounds, Seth Curry chipped in 17 points, and Damian Lillard contributed 16 points and 10 assists for the Trail Blazers, who won their third straight game.

Portland's Zach Collins also had 16 points.

Wendell Carter Jr. scored 22 points for the Bulls, who lost for the fifth straight time. Zach LaVine added 18 points, and Kris Dunn and Bobby Portis had 15 apiece for Chicago on the first stop on a five-game road trip.

The Blazers shot 56.6 percent from the field, including 42.3 percent (11 of 26) from 3-point range.
 

The Bulls fired at a 46.2 percent clip from the field and made 9 of 22 attempts (40.9 percent) from beyond the arc.

McCollum had 12 points and Nurkic 11 to stake Portland to a 56-51 halftime lead. LaVine scored 12 points in the first half for Chicago.

The Bulls crept back to within 70-68, but the Blazers took a 95-85 lead into the final period.

Chicago was still within 106-96 with 7:37 left after Carter sank two free throws. However, McCollum and Curry drilled consecutive 3-pointers to give the Blazers a 112-96 lead. The Bulls never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

Blazers guard CJ McCollum (3) passes the ball over Chicago Bulls guard Kris Dunn (32) as forward Wendell Carter Jr. (34) looks on during the first half at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports

The lead went back and forth in the first quarter, but Curry hit a layup with two seconds left to give Portland a 30-29 edge heading into the second period.

The Blazers extended their advantage to 43-35 on a Collins layup, but the Bulls cut it to 45-43 with 4:46 to go in the second quarter. Portland used a 9-2 spurt to increase the difference to 54-45. The Blazers settled for a five-point edge at the break after LaVine made 2 of 3 from the foul line with 2.3 seconds left.

--Field Level Media

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