Damian Lillard registered 22 points and 10 rebounds and the Portland Trail Blazers overcame a 20-point deficit to notch a 112-107 victory over the visiting Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
Jusuf Nurkic recorded 18 points and 12 rebounds and Norman Powell also scored 18 points as Portland improved to 7-1 at home. Larry Nance Jr. added 16 points and nine rebounds off the bench, and Robert Covington tallied 10 points for the Trail Blazers.
Zach LaVine made seven 3-point baskets while scoring 30 points for the Bulls, who fell to 2-2 on a five-game road trip. DeMar DeRozan added 22 points, Lonzo Ball scored 17 points and Alex Caruso had 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for Chicago.
Portland went ahead to stay when Lillard made two free throws for a 108-107 lead with 1:05 to play.
DeRozan missed a jumper with 13.7 seconds left before Nance made two free throws to put the Trail Blazers ahead by three with 12 seconds remaining. After LaVine missed a 3-point attempt, Nassir Little wrapped up the contest by sinking two free throws with 6.5 seconds to play.
Chicago made 47 percent of its field-goal attempts and hit 13 of 29 (44.8 percent) from 3-point range.
The Trail Blazers connected on 44 percent from the field, including 11 of 31 (35.5 percent) from behind the arc.
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The Bulls led by 20 late in the first half, but Portland made a strong charge to knot the score at 91 on Lillard’s 3-pointer with 7:43 remaining in the game.
CJ McCollum drained a 3-pointer with seven minutes remaining to give Portland a 94-92 edge, its first lead since 4-2.
A 3-pointer by Lillard gave the Trail Blazers a 102-98 lead with 4:14 left, and Nurkic added a dunk with 3:39 remaining for a six-point edge.
Ball scored consecutive baskets to bring Chicago within 104-102 before Lillard scored a basket with 2:48 remaining. LaVine buried a 3-pointer with two minutes left to pull the Bulls within 106-105 and then drove through the lane for a layup and a one-point lead with 1:20 to go.
LaVine scored 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the first half, helping the Bulls take a 63-48 lead in the break.
Chicago’s advantage reached 20 on two free throws by Caruso with 1:22 left in the half before Portland scored the final five points.
Powell made two 3-pointers and Lillard hit a jumper during an 8-0 run that brought the Trail Blazers within 79-75 with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter.
Chicago held an 85-81 edge entering the final stanza.
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–Field Level Media