NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jerami Grant scored 27 points and the Portland Trail Blazers overcame the absence of star guard Damian Lillard to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 106-95 on Thursday night.
Anfernee Simmons hit five 3s and scored 23 points for Portland, which improved to 6-1 on the road. Former Pelican Josh Hart added 17 points for the Blazers.
The Blazers, who won at Charlotte a night earlier, rested Lillard, who'd recently missed four games with a right calf strain.
But Portland wound up not needing him to improve to 4-1 on its six-game trip and get the best of former Blazers guard CJ McCollum.
Zion Williamson scored 29 points and Trey Murphy III added 16 for New Orleans. Brandon Ingram scored 14 but fouled out with 3:32 to go. McCollum finished with 13 points but missed 11 of 17 shots and went 1 of 7 from 3-point range.
New Orleans, normally among the NBA's highest-scoring teams in the paint, shot just 41.8% (33 of 79) and was outscored inside, 46-36.
The Blazers looked a step quicker, rebounding 11 of their own misses and scoring 18 second-chance points.
Portland also converted 17 Pelicans turnovers into 21 points while committing only nine turnovers themselves.
Portland took its first double-digit lead with an 11-2, fourth-quarter run that included a 3 by Justise Winslow and a 15-foot jumper by Grant. Little added a dunk and a layup as he was fouled after a Portland offensive rebound. His free throw made it 89-79. New Orleans struggled to close the gap after that.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Jusuf Nurkic was in uniform but was kept on the bench, missing his second straight game with right adductor soreness. ... Shaedon Sharpe, who scored 17 points in a reserve role a night earlier in Charlotte, was held out with a sprained finger on his right hand.
Pelicans: Larry Nance Jr. returned from a left knee hyperextension. He played 23 minutes and had six rebounds but missed both of his shots and did not score ... Pelicans had scored at least 100 points in their previous 36 games dating back to last season. ... Williamson was limited to just 12 minutes on the court in the first half, when he scored 12 of his points but also committed three fouls. ... Herb Jones scored 10 points. ... New Orleans fell to 2-2 at home.
UNHAPPY LILLARD
Portland coach Chauncey Billups said he understood why Lillard wasn't pleased about being scratched from the lineup, but that players, coaches and team doctors all “have to trust each other,” adding that the club's medical team knows “a lot more about this than I do, than Dame does.”
Although Lillard told Billups he “felt great,” the Blazers' medical staff decided it wasn't wise for Lillard, who scored 26 points in the win over the Hornets, to play a third game in four nights after he'd recently missed four games with a right calf strain. Lillard wanted to play for the first time against McCollum, who was his teammate in Portland for eight years before being traded to New Orleans last February.
“It's just a medical decision — coming back from a soft tissue injury is always tough,” Billups said after Lillard had been ruled out. “He's a little down about it, but it is what it is. We've got to keep our guys safe.”
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: At Dallas on Saturday.
Pelicans: Host Houston on Saturday.
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