----- Jerami Grant scored a game-high 37 points and Malcolm Brogdon finished with 30 points, seven rebounds, and six assists as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Indiana Pacers 118-115 Friday night at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
Jerami Grant answers the call!
With Anfernee Simons sidelined Friday night due to an illness, Chauncey Billups pushed Jerami Grant to be more aggressive and look for his shot and the veteran responded.
Grant scored a game-high 37 points on 14-of-28 shooting and Malcolm Brogdon added 30 points, seven rebounds, and six assists as the Portland Trail Blazers made it back-to-back wins 118-115 over the Indiana Pacers at Moda Center.
Deandre Ayton was back in the lineup after missing the 12-games. He finished the night with 12 points and eight rebounds on 6-of-15 shooting. He missed 11-games with knee tendinitis and Wednesday's game against Brooklyn due to the icy conditions in the Portland area.
Jabari Walker got his second-straight start at forward and recorded his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds in 41 minutes.
Portland (12-29) closed the first half on an 8-1 run to take a 64-53 halftime lead.
Indiana (24-18) opened the third quarter on an 18-7 run to tie the game at 71, but Portland closed the quarter on a 17-10 run to take an 88-81 lead into the fourth quarter.
Leading 95-91 with 9:22 to play, Portland erupted for a 9-0 run to push their lead to 104-91 with 6:52 to play following a driving layup by Grant.
Myles Turner capped off a Pacers 10-2 run with a three-pointer to trim the Blazers lead to five-points at 106-101 with 3:36 to play.
Portland got their lead back to double-digits at 113-106 following a 10-4 run with two-minutes remaining. The Blazers were able to ice the game at the foul line and secure the victory.
Turner led the Pacers with 29 points and Pascal Siakam finished with 21 points and six rebounds in his Pacers debut after being acquired in a trade with the Toronto Raptors earlier this week.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers travel to Los Angeles to meet the Lakers Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.
Chad's Take- Inspired performance for the short-handed Trail Blazers.