McCollum scores 27, leads Blazers past Pacers, 110-106

By ANNE M. PETERSON

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) CJ McCollum scored 27 points, making five 3-pointers, and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied to beat the Indiana Pacers 110-106 on Friday night and snap a three-game losing streak.

Norman Powell added 25 points and Robert Covington had 19, including a key 3-pointer with 14.7 seconds left.

Damian Lillard continued to struggle with his shot, going 2 for 13 from the field and missing all six of his 3-point attempts. He had four points and 11 assists.

T.J. McConnell had 19 points for the Pacers.

Portland led by as many as 16 points in the opening half, but the Pacers closed the gap before halftime and held a narrow lead going into the final period.

The Pacers went on an 11-0 run to go up 97-90 but it was snapped by Jusuf Nurkic's layup. McCollum and Covington each made 3-pointers to pull Portland within 101-98 with 3:55 left.

Powell hit two free throws and McCollum's layup put the Blazers in front 102-101. After Nurkic dunked, Domantas Sabonis' layup kept the Pacers close.

Covington hit a 3-pointer to extend Portland's lead, but Myles Turner answered with a 3 to narrow it to 107-106. Covington's 3 as the seconds ticked down sealed it.

Indiana was without starting guard Malcolm Brogdon, who leads the Pacers with 22.3 points per game, because of a non-COVID illness. McConnell started in his place.

Caris LeVert, who missed the start of the season with a stress fracture in his back, averaged 18.5 points in the Pacers' past two games. He finished with 12 against the Blazers.

Lillard was averaging 19.5 points, well off his average last season. Going into Friday game, Portland's All-Star had hit just 18 of 77 3-point attempts, or about 23%. However, he is among the league leaders with 8.5 assists a game.

Portland led by as many as 13 points early but Indiana closed the gap to 24-22 on Justin Holiday's 3-pointer early in the second.

McCollum made back-to-back 3-pointers to push Portland's lead to 40-28 but the Pacers went on a 10-0 run to close the half and got within 59-53 at the break.

After Indiana tied it at 68, Powell came back with a 3 for the Blazers. The Pacers kept it close and held a slim 83-82 lead going into the final quarter.

TIP-INS

Pacers: Domantas Sabonis, son of former Trail Blazers great Arvydas Sabonis, wore special shoes customized by Pacific Northwest artist Justin Tigner that pays homage to both father and son. ... Pacers coach Chauncey Billups played under Pacers coach Rick Carlisle in Detroit. ''It's a proud moment for me,'' Carlisle said about coaching opposite former players. ''I always thought Chauncey could do anything he wanted in basketball.''

Trail Blazers: McCollum led all scorers in the first half with 19 points. ... Powell has had three straight games with 20 or more points. ... Blazers owner Jody Allen was at the game.

UP NEXT

Pacers: Visit the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.

Trail Blazers: Play the second of a back-to-back against the Lakers on Saturday.

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