----- The New Orleans Pelicans connect on 15-of-35 from three-point range as they bury the Portland Trail Blazers 102-94 ending their four-game winning streak Monday night at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
Live by the three, die by the three.
Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum combined to go 2-for-20 from three-point range as the New Orleans Pelicans hand the Portland Trail Blazers a 102-94 loss Monday night at Moda Center snapping Portland's four-game winning streak.
“That was a tough game,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “The obvious thing was the three-point shooting. That was the difference. They shot extremely well and we didn’t.”
The Pelicans connected on 15 of their 35 threes leading to a 45-12 advantage from beyond the arc. Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 21 points and Brandon Ingram added 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Lillard scored 18 points on 6-for-21 shooting, first time in his career when he has failed to make a three-pointer when putting up at least seven attempts from downtown.
“Some nights, it just doesn’t go in,” Lillard said. “Tonight was one of those nights, but I think I’ve been scoring and shooting the ball well in this league for long enough to know that it’s not something that I’m about to go home and stay up over. I mean, I didn’t shoot the ball well. I thought I got some pretty good looks. I thought we got some pretty good looks as a team, we just didn’t shoot the ball well enough to win the game."
The Blazers led 56-54 at halftime, but the Pelicans made six three-pointers in the third quarter to take control of the game. Holiday made a three to push the Pelicans' lead to 95-88 with 7:09 left. Portland never mounted a threat after that point as Kenrich Williams extended the lead to 101-91 with 3:34 left.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers will travel to Salt Lake City to meet the Utah Jazz Thursday night. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.
Chad's Take- 4-for-29 from downtown? Tonight, the Blazers died by the three.