The Portland Trail Blazers hosted the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night in a game that had major implications for the NBA playoff race in the Western Conference. With only 5.5 games separating the fourth-seeded Phoenix Suns from the 13th-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, every game matters down the stretch.
That is what made Wednesday’s matchup so important, as the Pelicans came away with a 121-110 victory to move into 10th place. They are currently holding the final spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament, one game ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers and 1.5 games ahead of the Trail Blazers.
Another storyline that made the game so important was that it was the first time Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum faced off against each other. For 8.5 seasons they were teammates in the Trail Blazers’ backcourt until McCollum was traded ahead of the 2022 deadline.
In the early going, Lillard admitted that it was a little weird being matched up against McCollum instead of playing alongside him. He likened the feeling to practice, where the two squared off regularly against one another.
“At first, it was weird,” Lillard said following the game. “It felt like practice a little bit, a couple of the matchups.”
NBA NEWS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers, CJ McCollum & New Orleans Pelicans Updates
The Pelicans made a visit to the great northwest last season after the trade deadline, but Lillard was sidelined following surgery on his abdominal. Earlier this season when the team made the trip, McCollum was sidelined for injury management.
McCollum agreed with Lillard, also saying that matching up across from each other was a lot like practice.
“Just like practice, only a longer game, a couple more foul calls and fans there,” McCollum said. “It’s cool to compete against your peers and your friends and people that you respect and you worked with. That’s what the game is about. It’s about respecting the game, playing hard and giving all you’ve got.”
“Obviously, that’s a tough matchup,” McCollum said. “Me knowing him the way I know him, I wanted to make sure we set the tone early.”
Despite knowing him in the fashion that he does, Lillard lit up the Pelicans. He scored 41 points in the game, doing everything in his power to get the Trail Blazers a much-needed victory. He grabbed eight rebounds and uncharacteristically had zero assists.
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The two will have a chance to face off one more time in the regular season on March 12th in New Orleans. But, given where they are in the standings, there is a chance that isn’t their final meeting as a matchup in the Play-In Tournament is certainly within the realm of possibility.
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