PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard scored 19 points and CJ McCollum added 17, including a pair of key late baskets, to rally the Portland Trail Blazers to a 99-92 victory over the Miami Heat on Saturday night.
Hassan Whiteside led all scorers with 28 points and 16 rebounds for the Heat, who missed out on their first three-game winning streak of the season.
Whiteside’s follow shot put the Heat ahead 91-85, but McCollum made a 3-pointer with 2:57 left and Maurice Harkless’ free throws narrowed the gap to 91-90 with 2:26 left.
Wayne Ellington hit free throws for Miami but McCollum’s layup tied it at 92 with 1:44 to go. Harkless banked in a jumper to give Portland a 94-92 lead.
McCollum added a jumper with just under a minute left to make it 96-92 and Portland held on for the win.
Harkless also had 17 for Portland, which has won three of four and was coming off a 131-109 victory over Indiana.
The Heat, at 7-13, have struggled at times following Dwyane Wade’s departure for the Chicago Bulls as a free agent after 13 seasons in Miami.
https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/805282710986129408
They’re also grappling with injuries. The team announced before the game that forward Luke Babbitt would not play because of a hip flexor. He joined forward Justise Winslow (wrist), guard Dion Waiters (groin) and Josh Richardson (ankle) on Miami’s injured list and left the Heat with only 10 players available for the game.
Ellington, appearing in his fourth game since returning from a deep thigh bruise, made his first start for the Heat. He finished with 12 points.
The Heat jumped out to a 27-15 lead in the first quarter, but Portland closed in, cutting the lead to 31-29 in the second on Allen Crabbe’s 3-pointer. The Blazers took a 34-33 lead on Meyers Leonard’s 3-pointer and extended it to 47-39 on a long jumper from Harkless.
The Heat trailed 55-49 at the half but emerged on a 9-2 run to go up 58-57, capped by Josh McRoberts’ 3-pointer.
Leonard’s alley-oop dunk from Evan Turner gave the Blazers a 73-68 lead late in the third quarter. The Heat were hurt with 20 seconds left in quarter when James Johnson was ejected with a second technical when he got upset about a non-call.
Whiteside’s dunk put the Heat up 75-73. Miami held on to the lead through the first half of the fourth quarter but Lillard’s floater pulled Portland even at 82.
Goran Dragic’s jumper with 4:19 to go made it 86-82 but Lillard answered with a 3-pointer.
TIP INS
Heat: The team ate on Friday night at 23Hoyt, the Portland restaurant that is partly owned by Miami coach Erik Spoesltra. Spoesltra grew up in Portland, and played for the Portland Pilots. … The Heat had three technical fouls in the first half.
Trail Blazers: Following Saturday night’s game, Portland heads out on a five-game road trip. … McCollum missed a free throw in the third quarter, snapping a run of 30 consecutive made free throws.
UP NEXT
Heat: Miami heads home to host the Knicks on Tuesday.
Trail Blazers: The Blazers visit the Chicago Bulls on Monday.
This story has been corrected to show that Whiteside had 16 rebounds, per final stats.
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