Damian Lillard scored 35 points, CJ McCollum added 24 and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Washington Wizards 122-103 to snap a five-game losing streak
WASHINGTON —
Damian Lillard scored 35 points and CJ McCollum added 24 in the Portland Trail Blazers’ 122-103 victory Friday night over the Washington Wizards, who were short-handed even before losing Isaiah Thomas to a first-quarter ejection.
Hassan Whiteside added 23 points, 21 rebounds and five blocks for Portland, which snapped a five-game losing streak.
Thomas was ejected less than 1 1/2 minutes into the game for making contact with an official. Thomas was tied up along the sideline by Portland’s Carmelo Anthony. As he broke away from Anthony he made contact with referee Marat Kogut, who stumbled into the crowd.
Jordan McCrae scored a season-high 35 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, for Washington. Garrison Mathews added 18 points and Ish Smith scored 16 for the Wizards, who have lost four of five.
Playing without Bradley Beal, Washingon’s top three scorers were reserves.
Beal is day-to-day. He returned Wednesday against Orlando after missing two games with lower leg soreness and collided with the Magic’s Jonathan Isaac early on. Wizards coach Scott Brooks said the collision aggravated Beal’s injury.
McCollum started an 11-1 run in the third quarter with a jumper and then added a 3-pointer to make it 73-64. Whiteside scored four straight points on a tip-in and layup and, after a Washington free throw, Lillard hit two foul shots to put Portland up 79-65.
McCrae’s 3-pointer pulled Washington within 103-96 with 5:54 left, but Lillard answered with a jumper followed by a 3-pointer to make it 108-96.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Forward Mario Hezonja returned after missing four games because of lower back pain. … Lillard has scored at least 29 points in the teams’ last six matchups. … Whiteside has 26 double-doubles
Wizards: Have 20 20-plus point games from bench, second-most in the NBA behind the Clippers (31). … Wizards bench has 17 games of 50 or more combined points. … Have 32 consecutive games of 100 or more points, fifth-longest streak in team history. … Are 1-15 when they score less than 110 points.
UP NEXT:
Trail Blazers: Continue road trip on Sunday when they visit the Miami Heat.
Wizards: Host the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.