Thanks in large part to a fourth quarter scoring outburst from CJ McCollum, the Portland Trail Blazers walked away from Tuesday night's game against the Clippers with a 125-104 victory.
McCollum led the charge for Portland. In 35 minutes of playing time, the former Lehigh standout racked up 35 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field (6-of-11 from beyond the arc), four assists, four rebounds and two steals. 23 of his points came in the fourth quarter alone, topping his previous best of 16. Most impressive of all is the fact that McCollum outscored the Clippers by himself in the final frame, 23-20.
35 PTS with 23 on 8/9 from the field in the 4th for @CJMcCollum! pic.twitter.com/3rK5VbMex0
— NBA (@NBA) March 13, 2019
During his post-game media availability, McCollum stressed that he is never afraid to shoot the rock:
“I don't ever get gun-shy,” McCollum told ESPN. “I've missed a lot of shots in my career. You've just got to stay confident.”
Blazers head coach Terry Stotts had high praise for McCollum's confidence:
Article Continues Below“He never lost confidence, took the shots that were there and got us over the hump,” Stotts said of McCollum. “I think he was confident that the looks he had (in the first half) were good. He's too good of a shooter to not take the next one.”
Damian Lillard recorded 20 points for Portland, while Jusuf Nurkic added 20 points and 12 rebounds, marking his 31st double-double of the season.
Lillard says he's all too familiar with McCollum's hot hand:
“I've seen that movie. I always tell you guys, when he sees the ball go in a few times, he can get going,” Lillard said of McCollum. “At that point, my job is to just try to make it last as long as possible. It lasted long enough to get us up in double digits, and we were able to pull away.”
The Blazers will be back in action on Friday, when they'll travel to New Orleans for a matchup against the Pelicans. Tip-off inside the Smoothie King Center is set for 8:00 p.m. ET.