Red-hot Blazers take down Hornets

Damian Lillard scored 23 points, Jusuf Nurkic added 26 and Rodney Hood supplied 27 off the bench as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.

Hood poured in 21 points in the fourth quarter as the in-form Blazers stayed hot and rolled to a 118-108 victory

The Blazers bolted to a 15-point lead in the first quarter but then had to pull away again in the fourth quarter, going on a 15-2 run in the final six minutes. Hood triggered it, scoring 20 of 22 Portland points in one stretch.

The Blazers won for the sixth time in their last seven games. They were playing the sixth game of a gruelling seven-game, 15-day road trip but they showed no signs of fatigue.

Nurkic came near a triple-double with 26 points, 15 rebounds and six assists, and he, too, played a key role in the fourth quarter with seven points in the decisive 15-2 run.

The Blazers also got 23 points from Lillard and 14 from Al-Farouq Aminu. CJ.McCollum, who scored 30 when the Blazers beat the Hornets in Portland in January, finished with only six.

The Hornets were led by Jeremy Lamb with 23 points, including 20 in the first half. Frank Kaminsky and Kemba Walker scored 18 each, but Walker was just 5-of-21 shooting from the field. The Hornets also got 14 points from Tony Parker and 10 from Miles Bridges.

The Blazers raced to a 26-11 lead at the start and eventually led 32-25 after one quarter and 56-50 at half-time. Portland then led 81-80 entering the fourth quarter.

Portland was up 97-96 when Nurkic scored five straight to push the lead to 102-96, and after a Charlotte basket, Hood hit a jumper and Aminu converted a three-point play to push the lead back up to nine. Nurkic then added a lay-up and Hood added a three-pointer, and the lead grew to 14.

The Blazers will close out their road trip on Tuesday at Memphis. The Hornets will host Miami on Wednesday.

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