DAMIAN Lillard scored 30 of his 40 points in the first half to help the Portland Trail Blazers roll to an easy 127-115 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night (Tuesday in Manila).
Lillard drained eight 3-pointers while reaching the 40-point mark for the 11th time this season. He also had six rebounds and five assists as Portland won for the seventh time in its past 11 games. Shaedon Sharpe scored 15 points off the bench for Portland while Anfernee Simons and Matisse Thybulle added 14 apiece.
Anthony Davis paced the Lakers with 19 points, 20 rebounds and three blocked shots, while Malik Beasley scored a team-high 22 points off the bench. LeBron James (sore left ankle) sat out his third consecutive game.
Los Angeles shot 61.9 percent from the field in the third quarter and still couldn’t dent its large deficit. The Lakers trailed 101-79 entering the final stanza. Lillard reached 40 points on a driving hoop to make it 113-89 with 7:40 remaining in the fourth. He exited the game 38 seconds later, and Los Angeles cut into the margin in the final minutes.
In other games, it was the Knicks 124, Nets 106; Warriors 135, Wizards 126; Hornets 144, Hawks 138; Sixers 123, Rockets 104; Wolves 124, Mavs 121; Cavs 117, Spurs 109; Jazz 123, Pacers 117; Nuggets 112, Heat 108; Magic 100, Bulls 91; and Pelicans 103, Thunder 100.
Knicks 124, Nets 106
Jalen Brunson scored 17 of his 40 points in the third quarter as host New York pulled away for a victory over Brooklyn.
Brunson’s latest big game helped the Knicks end a nine-game losing streak to the Nets. It was New York’s first win over Brooklyn since Jan. 26, 2020. Josh Hart, Brunson’s close friend from their Villanova days, added a season-high 27 points off the bench.
Spencer Dinwiddie led the Nets with 28 points but shot 8 of 21 and was visibly frustrated with the officiating most of the game.
Warriors 135, Wizards 126
Andrew Wiggins poured in 29 points, Klay Thompson went for 27 points and Golden State beat Washington in San Francisco.
Golden State’s Donte DiVincenzo bombed in five 3-pointers en route to 17 points, helping the Warriors outscore the Wizards 60-36 from beyond the arc while completing a two-game season-series sweep.
Kristaps Porzingis was the game’s leading scorer with 34 points and Bradley Beal had 33 for the Wizards, who saw a two-game winning streak come to an end. — Field Level Media
