CJ McCollum Scores 20 as Trail Blazers Beat Hawks

SB Nation

The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Atlanta Hawks 117-101 at home on Thursday night to get back in the win column. The game was close throughout the entire first half and most of the third quarter

before the Blazers were able to pull away and come away with a double-digit win.

Shaedon Sharpe led Portland in scoring with 24 points in the game. He was followed by Jerami Grant who had 16 points. Four other Blazers finished in double-digits in a balanced scoring attack.

The Hawks were led by Onyeka Okonwu’s 26 points and CJ McCollum’s 20 points in his first game in Portland since being traded to the Hawks from the Washington Wizards.

Here are some key takeaways from the game.

Sharpe Hot Early

Shaedon Sharpe scored 12 points on 5-6 shooting from the field in the first quarter. He followed that up with 6 more points in the second to go into halftime with 18 points. He was instrumental in building a lead in the first quarter for Portland.

Sharpe cooled off a bit as the game wore on and he only added six more points in the second half as others picked up the brunt of the scoring load.

Late Game Runs

The Blazers found themselves down by a handful of points late, but looked like they might be fading fast. However, that all changed late in the third quarter. With a lineup consisting of Jerami Grant, Robert Williams III, Rayan Rupert and Duop Reath Portland blew the game wide open. The fifth member of the lineup was Jrue Holiday then Caleb Love as Portland went on two separate 17-4 and 12-0 runs in the late third quarter and early fourth quarter.

The Blazers flipped the game on its head, going from trailing 77-68 to leading 103-89 in the span of about 8 minutes of game time. The bench unit was dominant and saw big shots from unlikely sources, including a buzzer-beating three from Rupert to end the third quarter.

Extra Opportunities

The Blazers were not especially efficient in the game as they shot 45% from the field and 30% from three. However, they made up for that by generating extra chances, allowing them to finish with 14 more shot attempts than Atlanta. Those chances came on the offensive glass, which Portland won 16-7, and off of turnovers as the Blazers won the points off turnovers battle 28-12.

Getting these extra shots allowed the Blazers to take and keep control of the game late in the contest as the Hawks struggled to get stops and maximize their own possessions on the other end.

Defense On Jalen Johnson

Jalen Johnson came into this game in the midst of an incredible season. Prior to this game, he was averaging 23.4 points, 10.1 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game. However, the Blazers were able to turn him into an almost non-factor in the contest. He scored 12 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had 6 assists, but took just 9 shots and turned the ball over 6 times. It was a team effort to execute the defensive gameplan on Johnson, but it clearly worked. He was unable to find any rhythm and was kept well below his normal level of contribution.

CJ’s Return

It was not the first time CJ McCollum has played in Portland since being traded a few seasons ago. Far from it. That did not make Blazers fans any less excited to see him. A wave of applause came when he checked in off the bench for the first time in the game. He scored 20 points in the game and gave Atlanta a spark in the first half to help them take a lead into the break.

While his performance was not remarkable, a solid 20-point effort from a fan favorite is always fun.