 on the team's list, giving him 12,584 and leaving only Clyde Drexler ahead of him with 18,040.C. J. McCollum added 23 points, and Enes Kanter and Rodney Hood each had 17 points for the Trail Blazers, who improved to 8-3 since the All-Star break. Zach Collins scored 12 points and Jusuf Nurkic had 11 points and 12 rebounds as Portland handed New Orleans its fifth consecutive loss despite impressive performances by a couple of Pelicans.New Orleans' Julius Randle had a career-high 45 points and 11 rebounds, falling four assists short of a triple-double. Elfrid Payton had his third consecutive triple-double, finishing with 14 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high 16 assists.Frank Jackson added 16 points and Jahlil Okafor had 10 for the Pelicans, who made just 12 of 25 free throws.The Pelicans led by one point at halftime, but Lillard and McCollum led the way as the Blazers had a 66-point second half.Portland took an 87-82 lead at the end of the third quarter and pushed the lead to eight early in the fourth.Payton's 3-pointer pulled the New Orleans within three points at 102-99 midway through the period, but McCollum, Lillard and Hood each made a 3-pointer as Portland took a 115-103 lead with 3:51 left.New Orleans took a 37-30 lead after one quarter, but cooled off in the second. The Pelicans scored just 20 second-quarter points as the Blazers closed within a point at 57-56 at halftime.TIP-INSBlazers: The Blazers clinched a winning season and improved to .500 on the road (17-17). ... Portland, which was swept by New Orleans in a first-round playoff series last season, completed a three-game sweep of the regular-season series. ... Hood made his first start since being acquired in trade with Cleveland on Feb. 4, filling in for injured Maurice Harkless.Pelicans: G Jrue Holiday (abdominal strain) and F E'Twaun Moore (quad contusion) each missed their fourth consecutive games and coach Alvin Gentry said it's unlikely either will return this season. ... Randle set his career high for points in a quarter when he scored 21 in the first period.DAVIS WELL RESTEDPelicans All-Star F Anthony Davis did not play Friday and the official reason for his absence was ''rest.'' New Orleans has been restricting Davis' minutes and holding him out of one game of each set of back-to-back games since he requested a trade in late January. He's expected to play against Phoenix on Saturday.UP NEXTBlazers: visits San Antonio on Saturday.Pelicans: hosts Phoenix on Saturday.---More NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Mar 14, 2019Streaking Trail Blazers look to stay hot against PelicansThe last time the Portland Trail Blazers played in New Orleans, their 2017-18 season was coming to an end as the Pelicans completed a sweep of a first-round playoff series.As those teams prepare to meet again Friday night in New Orleans, the Trail Blazers are steaming toward another playoff berth while the Pelicans are closing in on mathematical elimination from the postseason chase.Portland has won seven of 10 games since the All-Star Break as it tries to earn home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs although the home-court edge didn't do the third-seeded Blazers much good against sixth-seeded New Orleans last season."I love where we are," Portland point guard Damian Lillard told OregonLive.com. "It feels like (we are) a complete team. It feels like our style of play is very sustainable for us. We can be successful like this. I like that about the way things are right now." The Trail Blazers won both meetings with the Pelicans in Portland this season and the teams are preparing to have their only meeting in New Orleans. The Blazers can clinch a winning record and reach the .500 mark on the road by beating the short-handed Pelicans, who have dropped four straight games."I'm fine with where we are, but we have a lot of work to do," Portland coach Terry Stotts told OregonLive.com. "Look at the swings in the standings this past week. Every game has importance. I don't think we're ever going to have a chance to catch our breath, because it's so tight from three through eight in the West."There's not a team in the West you want to face. Three-through-eight is still up in the air, and one and two are pretty good. There's not anybody out there that you look forward to playing." Portland began a three-game road trip with a 125-104 victory at the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.Shooting guard CJ McCollum missed his first seven shots of the game, then made eight straight during a 23-point fourth quarter."I don't ever get gun-shy," McCollum said after a 35-point performance. "I've missed a lot of shots in my career and percentage-wise you're going to miss more than you make, especially from three. You just have to stay confident, stay aggressive and know who you are. I'm very comfortable with who I am as a basketball player and a person, so I just go out there and try to be my best self." McCollum scored 19 points during a five-minute stretch of the final quarter.As for Lillard, he is three points away from passing second-place LaMarcus Aldridge (12,562) on the franchise's all-time list.The Pelicans have a hot guard of their own in Elfrid Payton even though the team has lost its last four games. Payton has had a triple-double in each of the last two games, becoming the first New Orleans player to have back-to-back triple-doubles since Chris Paul in 2008.Payton is in his first season with the Pelicans and has played in just 30 games because of multiple injuries."I definitely feel much healthier than I've been unfortunately throughout the season," Payton said. "(I'm) getting a head of steam. Just (need to) find a way to turn them into (wins)." New Orleans will again be without injured starters Jrue Holiday (abdominal strain) and E'Twaun Moore (quad contusion). Both players are scheduled to be re-evaluated some time during the next week, but coach Alvin Gentry indicated that both players could be shut down for the rest of the season.Holiday and Moore are two of the team's better outside shooters and without them, the Pelicans attempted a franchise-record 47 3-pointers but made just 10 in a 130-113 home loss against Milwaukee on Tuesday."We have to shoot the ball better," Gentry said. "We took 47 3s. We probably took 38 really good ones." The Pelicans scored 41 points in the third quarter, but saw the Bucks extend their eight-point halftime lead by scoring 45 in the period."You score 41 in a quarter," Gentry said, "you think that you would be able to make up ground." --Field Level Media
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