DETROIT (AP) — Damian Lillard had 33 points and nine assists and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Detroit Pistons 124-101 on Wednesday night.
CJ McCollum added 24 points and Carmelo Anthony and Robert Covington each scored 16 in Portland’s fourth straight win.
Jerami Grant scored 30 points for Detroit, which lost for the fifth time in six games. Mason Plumlee added 18 points, but Detroit’s other three starters — Saddiq Bey, Josh Jackson and Saben Lee — combined for two points on 1-for-17 shooting.
Grant had 17 first-half points to help Detroit to a 52-51 lead, but Lillard’s 3-pointer on Portland’s first possession of the second half started a 17-2 run. The Trail Blazers hit their first five 3-point attempts of the quarter and Lillard finished with 16 points in the period as Portland took an 87-79 lead.
The Pistons cut the gap to six early in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t put together a sustained run.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Anthony played his 35th career game against the Pistons, the team that passed on him in the 2003 NBA draft to select Darko Milicic. He hasn’t had much success against them. His 21.4 scoring average is lower than against any other opponent than San Antonio (19.2), and his average of 5.1 rebounds is his worst against any team.
Pistons: Bey entered the game needing four 3-pointers to break Brandon Knight’s franchise rookie record of 105, set in 2011-12. But he fouled out after missing all seven 3-point attempts.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Host the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
Pistons: Host the Washington Wizards on Thursday.
