PORTLAND, Pray. – If only the Trail Blazers could find out why they are successful at home but struggle on the road.
CJ McCollum had 29 points and Damian Lillard added 24 to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 118-113 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.
The Blazers, who were playing second from a back-to-back, improved to 6-1 at home. That’s in stark contrast to the road, where Portland is 1-7.
“When we play at home, it is a different team than when we play away. That’s the truth. And I’m not sure what it is, ”Lillard said. “I think when you are at home there is a level of comfort and support that you feel from the fans. But at the same time, we are NBA players. We play a lot on the road ”.
OG Anunoby had 27 points for the Raptors, who have lost five of six. Pascal Siakam added 20.
“They made difficult shots,” Anunoby said. “We were playing hard. They are making difficult shots, but we played hard. That is what happens sometimes. They have good players on their team ”.
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It was a final quarter of streaks for both teams. Larry Nance Jr.’s alley-oop dunk gave Portland a 99-89 lead before a 3-pointer by McCollum took it to 105-92.
The Raptors rallied with a 9-0 run, going 105-101 on a triple by Fred VanVleet with 5:34 left. Portland didn’t allow Toronto to get any closer, and Lillard’s 3 extended the Blazers’ lead to 110-101.
VanVleet made consecutive 3s to bring it down to 112-111 with 1:51 to play. After Norman Powell made free throws for Portland, McCollum hit a jump shot to make it a five-point game. Nance’s dunk nearly sealed the victory with 38.5 seconds to go.
Nance finished with 15 points off the bench.
“We have a day off tomorrow, so I can sleep all day if I want to. So there was no excuse for not using all the energy we had, ”Nance said. “I thought we did an outstanding job in the fourth quarter fighting their careers and doing some of our own.”
Lillard was in doubt before the game due to an abdominal strain, but he started. Lillard missed the Blazers’ loss in Denver on Sunday night due to injury.
Lillard has had a slow start to the season, averaging 20 points per game, well below his average last season.
VanVleet returned to the Raptors after missing a game with groin pain, but center Precious Achiuwa missed a second straight game with right shoulder tendonitis.
Toronto led by 14 early and entered the second quarter with a 33-24 lead. Anunoby had 14 points, including four triples in the first quarter alone.
The Blazers ended the first half on a 9-0 streak to take a 61-60 lead at halftime.
Portland stretched the lead to eight in the third quarter, but Toronto tied at 85 going into the final period on a layup from Malachi Flynn.
Lillard and McCollum scored consecutive triples to give the Blazers a 93-85 lead.
“The beginning of the second and the beginning of the fourth really disappointed us,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “He changed the momentum and put us in a hole in the room.”
ADVICE
Raptors: It was the first of a six-game road trip. … Gary Trent Jr. played his first two seasons in Portland. … Toronto’s five starters were in double digits.
“I still feel like we have a lot of room to grow,” Toronto center Khem Birch said. “We have a lot of young people who are still developing. We just have to be patient and it will come soon. “
Trail Blazers: Lillard had 10 of his 16 first-half points in the second quarter. … Portland was coming off a 1-3 road trip. … Lillard had eight assists. … McCollum scored six 3-pointers.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
The Raptors visit the Utah Jazz on Thursday.
The Trail Blazers host the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
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