Portland’s explosive backcourt duo spanked the New York Knicks to the tune of 55 points Tuesday night at MSG—Damian Lillard scored 30 points, and C.J. McCollum poured in 21 of his 25 points in the second half of the Trail Blazers’ 104-85 win.
Lillard has reached 30 points or more in eight of his last nine outings.
Dame: 30 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds
CJ: 25 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists pic.twitter.com/BhdvbYDUlo— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) March 2, 2016
Portland has won 18 of their last 22 games.
Per the AP:
“It feels great. You feel like you get any sniff at the rim or any look at the rim, they got a great chance of going in,” Lillard said. “Some of those plays they defended well. I just was in a good groove at the time.” […] He meant the second-quarter outburst, but he may as well have been referring to the last month.
Portland went 9-2 in February for its third-best record in that month in franchise history. Lillard averaged 29.8 points in 11 games last month, fourth in the league, and his seven 30-point games tied with Stephen Curry for most in the NBA. […] “We’re getting better,” coach Terry Stotts said. “The goal was to get better as the season went on and I think the growth we’ve made, winning close games, winning games on the road, holding leads, all those things speaks to the improvement of the individuals on the team.”
Carmelo Anthony had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, so hopeless in their 15th loss in 18 games that fans spent much of the fourth quarter chanting for Jimmer Fredette, who is nearing the end of his 10-day contract. The former college player of the year got in for the final 3:13, quickly gave up a 3-pointer to Lillard and finished with four points. […] Anthony had an exchange toward the end with a fan who was just as frustrated as the Knicks.
