CJ McCollum absolutely caught fire on Thursday as the Portland Trail Blazers took on the Miami Heat. The sharp-shooting two-guard came out of the gates firing and he never took his foot off the gas, finishing with 29 points after just two quarters of play.
McCollum could not miss on Thursday as he torched the Heat in what was a jaw-dropping first-half performance (h/t ClutchPoints on Twitter):
C.J. McCollum was COOKING in the first half 🔥
29 points
11-13 FGM
6-8 3PMWe still have a whole half left…pic.twitter.com/Mny7TARJyO
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 26, 2021
After a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to injury, it was only after the All-Star break that McCollum returned to action for the Blazers. Apart from a 32-point explosion against the Dallas Mavericks on March 19th, the 6-foot-3 shooting guard was rusty for the most part. Clearly, this was absolutely not the case on Thursday night.
McCollum's explosion comes in the wake of Portland's trade deadline move to bring in Norman Powell from the Toronto Raptors. In exchange, the Blazers sent Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood to Toronto. More significantly, it was also announced by Jusuf Nurkic himself that he is set to return to action on Friday against the Orlando Magic after months on the shelf dealing with a fractured wrist, and subsequently a calf issue.
The Blazers are going to look like a different team come Friday, and the reinforcements come just in time as they enter a crucial juncture in the season.
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