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McCollum’s 40 points propel Blazers over Bucks
LOS ANGELES, Nov 7, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – CJ McCollum scored 40 points Tuesday
as the Portland Trail Blazers cooled off the red-hot Milwaukee Bucks with a
118-103 NBA victory.
McCollum connected on 17 of 23 attempts from the field, including five of
10 from three-point range, as the Trail Blazers improved to 8-3 and handed
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks just their second defeat of the season.
“It’s a great win for us,” said McCollum, who scored 19 points in the third
quarter alone.
Among his myriad highlights, a wicked move around Donte DiVincenzo that
brought the Bucks rookie to his knees.
“Whenever you see a rookie you’ve got to be aggressive, attack them, make
them move their feet,” McCollum said.
It was a breakout performance for McCollum, who had struggled to find his
shooting touch in the first 10 games of the season.
He added six assists and five rebounds as the Trail Blazers snapped a four-
game losing streak to the Bucks.
“I just tried to be aggressive and take advantage and help the team get a
win,” McCollum said.
Evan Turner posted his first double-double of the season with 16 points and
11 rebounds, also handing out four assists for the Blazers. Damian Lillard,
Jusuf Nurkic and Jake Layman also scored in double figures.
Antetokounmpo led a trio of Bucks players to score in double digits with 23
points, along with nine rebounds and six assists.
– Mavs snap skid –
Luka Doncic scored 23 points to lead five Dallas players in double figures
as the Mavericks snapped a six-game skid with a 119-100 victory over the
Washington Wizards.
Doncic, the 19-year-old Slovenian rookie, added six rebounds and three
assists for the Mavs. Wesley Matthews added 22 points and Dennis Smith
contributed 19 — making a trio of crucial plays down the stretch as the
Mavericks thwarted Washington’s bid to rally in the second half.
“It’s been a long time since we won a game,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle
said. “Feels good.”
The Wizards trailed by as many as 24 in the first half and were down 70-49
at halftime.
But they piled on the pressure in the second half, and trailed by just six
with 5:33 to play when Smith got past Dwight Howard for an offensive rebound
and fed DeAndre Jordan for a dunk that stretched Dallas’ lead to 101-93.
Less than a minute later Smith connected with Jordan on an alley-oop dunk,
and Smith came up with a steal to feed Harrison Barnes for a three-point play
that pushed the Mavs lead to 106-93.
“Resilience,” Carlisle said of what he saw from his team.
John Wall led the Wizards with 24 points. Otto Porter Jr. and Bradley Beal
had 19 each, although Beal struggled from three-point range, making just one
of nine.
In Charlotte, the Hornets survived 21 turnovers to beat the Atlanta Hawks
113-102.
Kemba Walker scored 29 points and handed out seven assists and Marvin
Williams added a season-high 20 points for the Hornets, who improved to 6-5.
Walker connected on 12 of 22 shots from the field, including four of 10
from three-point range. With 46 three-pointers this season he trails only
Golden State star Stephen Curry.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1255 hrs