awayTeamLogo Portland 130 homeTeamLogo Orlando 107
Monday, March 2, 2020 07:00 PM (ET)

McCollum's 41-point night carries Blazers past Magic

Field Level Media
Mar 2, 2020

CJ McCollum matched his season-high with 41 points Tuesday night, sending the visiting Portland Trail Blazers to a 130-107 victory over the Orlando Magic.

Playing without injured All-Star sidekick Damian Lillard, McCollum shot 14-for-24 overall and 6-for-12 on 3-pointers en route to the second-most points scored in Orlando by a Magic opponent this season. James Harden had 54 points at Orlando in December.

McCollum, whose career-high of 50 came against Chicago in 2018, also totaled 41 in a game against Detroit last month.

Nikola Vucevic countered with a team-high 30 points for Orlando, but it wasn't nearly enough to prevent the Magic from losing their second straight after a three-game winning streak.

After having lost their first two games to begin a three-game trip, the Trail Blazers started strong in Orlando, using an early 15-4 run to turn a four-point deficit into a 35-28 lead at the end of the first quarter. McCollum had eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in the quarter-ending burst.

Orlando never caught up, although it did get within 82-80 in the third period before McCollum stalled the rally with another 3-pointer.

The Magic hung within 101-94 in the fourth quarter before Portland put the game away with a 20-7 run that included a four-point play by Trevor Ariza. McCollum added four hoops, including a 3-pointer, to the run-away spurt.

Hassan Whiteside recorded a 16-point, game-high 13-rebound double-double for Portland, which swept the two-game season series from the Magic.

Gary Trent Jr. went for 24 points, Ariza 11, and Carmelo Anthony and Mario Hezonja had 10 apiece for the Trail Blazers, who outshot the Magic 55.7 percent to 38.5 and made all 16 of their free-throw attempts.

Vucevic complemented his 30 points with a team-high 11 rebounds for Orlando, which began the day tied in the loss column with Brooklyn in their duel for the seventh and eighth playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.

Terrence Ross had 23 points off the bench for Orlando, while Evan Fournier totaled 13, James Ennis III 10 and Markelle Fultz seven to go with a game-high 10 assists.

--Field Level Media

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