During the NBA’s Monday night slate, the Portland Trail Blazers won 129-125 over the Atlanta Hawks thanks to 42 points from Damian Lillard and a tiebreaking 3-pointer from Anfernee Simons.
Murray scored 40 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and had six assists for the Hawks, who were without star point guard Trae Young (ankle). Off the bench, Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 23 points for Atlanta.
The Trail Blazers led 124-121 after Lillard’s clutch 3 off a pass from Grant gave them a lead for good. Jerami Grant scored 22 points and Simons had 21.
“I wasn’t really expecting the ball but I was prepared for it,” Simons said. “Usually, they don’t help off me like that. (De’Andre Hunter) helped way off and I got pretty much an easy 3 to get off. It was as easy as it comes.”
Giving the ball up wasn’t a problem for Lillard, who understood that it was the proper basketball play to pass to the open man.
“They helped all the way off (Simons). It was an easy call,” Lillard said.
With 1:06 remaining, Murray made two free throws to tie the game at 119 after Portland led by 10. With 41.1 seconds left, Lillard scored on a drive, but then fouled Murray, who sank two more free throws to tie the score 121-all.
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Atlanta Hawks Updates
With 27.1 seconds remaining, Simons hit a 3-pointer to put Portland in front 124-122. Bogdanovic was fouled on a 3 but missed two of three at the line. With 15.1 seconds left, Grant hit two free throws before Bogdanovic missed a 3. With two more free throws from Lillard and two from Josh Hart, the Blazers had sealed the victory.
All 17 foul shots Lillard took were successful. Hart finished with nine points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. A 45-29 rebounding margin and a 21-3 second-chance point margin kept Portland from losing.
“You’d rather learn and keep talking about it in wins,” Lillard said about Portland’s rebounding struggles. “We can keep having that conversation. We’ve got to box out better, hit somebody and limit these opportunities.”
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Atlanta Hawks Updates
With 22 points in the first half, Lillard helped the Blazers take a 64-60 lead into the locker room. Murray scored 20 points in the second half for the Hawks. The crowd was given a boost by 19-year-old rookie Shaedon Sharpe, who chased down Murray with 2:49 left in the third quarter. He finished the game with 10 points and four rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench, after scoring two alley-oop dunks and a near miss that drew the loudest reaction of the night.
“He’s been getting a lot more comfortable on both sides of the ball,” Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said.
A technical foul was called against Murray for disputing a foul called against the Hawks with 2:14 left in the third quarter. Lillard made three free throws to stretch Portland’s lead to seven points.
NBA SCORES & NEWS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers & Atlanta Hawks Updates
Earlier that day, Lillard was named Western Conference player of the week for Portland, which went 2-1 at home last week with Lillard averaging 42.3 points while shooting 63% from the field and 51% from behind the 3-point line.
“You’ve got to have somebody in his face when he crosses half court,” McMillan said before the game. “He’s shown the ability to be unstoppable at times with his ability to stretch the floor and create offense. I don’t think you can give him the same look and expect to have success against him. He’s seen everything and he’s still able to affect the game.”
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