NBA: Trail Blazers hand 76ers a home loss

Jusuf Nurkic scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the visiting Portland Trail Blazers past the Philadelphia 76ers 130-115 on Saturday afternoon.

Damian Lillard added 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds as the Trail Blazers won their third straight. Enes Kanter also had 16 points and eight rebounds as Portland won its second in a row away from home on a seven-game road trip.

Ben Simmons led the Sixers with 29 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds while Tobias Harris added 20 points.

JJ Redick struggled with just seven points on 1-of-10 shooting. Redick's streak of scoring in double figures in 64 straight games was snapped.

The Sixers played again without injured All-Star center Joel Embiid and guard/forward Furkan Korkmaz.

The Trail Blazers closed the first half on a 16-7 run to take a 59-56 lead into the locker room. Trailing by six late in the second quarter, the Trail Blazers continued to be aggressive on the offensive glass and it paid off.

Al-Farouq Aminu led Portland with 13 points in the half. Harris paced the Sixers with 13 on 5-of-8 shooting.

The Sixers committed only five turnovers but were able to muster just three offensive rebounds.

Maurice Harkless threw down a dunk off an alley-oop and Nurkic hit a baseline jumper to put the Trail Blazers ahead 76-62 with 7:07 remaining in the third.

Two free throws by Lillard put Portland up by 20 at 89-69 with 4:49 left in the third.

Simmons had a couple of late baskets, but the Sixers still trailed 100-82 after three quarters.

Nurkic continued to lead Portland, which dominated in virtually aspect through three quarters.

The game became quite chippy early in the fourth when Kanter and Simmons exchanged words and had to be separated by the officials. Simmons attempted to keep the Sixers somewhat close, but Portland kept coming up with huge shots.

Seth Curry's driving layup gave the Trail Blazers a 115-95 lead with 6:06 left.

It was more than enough of a cushion to hand the Sixers a rare home loss. The Sixers fell to 24-8 at home.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Nurkic notches double-double as Trail Blazers pound Timberwolves

Jusuf Nurkic scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers breezed to a 111-81 victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night.

Damian Lillard scored 18 points and CJ McCollum added 16 for the Trail Blazers, who were in front after the opening minutes and led by as many as 36 points. Meyers Leonard came off the bench for season highs in scoring (15) and rebounds (12) and Zach Collins added 11 points for the Blazers.

Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 23 points while Andrew Wiggins added 17.

Portland won the backboard battle 66-38, grabbing 17 off the offensive glass.

The Timberwolves shot only 31.2 percent from the field, including 23.3 percent from 3-point range.

Minnesota was going without guards Jimmy Butler (precautionary rest), Jeff Teague (knee) and Derrick Rose (ankle).


Nurkic had 13 points and eight rebounds and Leonard 10 points and five boards off the bench as Portland raced to a 61-45 lead at halftime.

The Blazers scored the first six points of the third quarter to go ahead, 67-45.

When McCollum knocked down a step-back jumper, Portland's edge was 85-57 late in the third quarter. Early in the fourth period, the Blazers jacked the lead up to 97-64. The Wolves got no closer than 30 points the rest of the way.

Portland jumped to a 12-4 lead in the game's first five minutes. Minnesota answered with a 17-7 run to go ahead 21-19.

The Blazers carried a 30-27 advantage into the second quarter. The Blazers extended the margin to 39-31 on a pair of Leonard free throws.

An 8-0 run kicked the margin up to 55-40 late in the second quarter. Portland's edge was 16 points at the half.

source: news.abs-cbn.com