Damian Lillard scored 39 points, including six 3-pointers, and Portland’s rested Trail Blazers soon took the lead in their duel with the New York Knicks to win 116-113 on Sunday.
Anfernee Simons added 16 points off the bench for the Blazers, who opened a 25-point lead before seeing the gap narrow in the fourth quarter.
Immanuel Quickley scored 31 points as a backup and Julius Randle had 25 for the Knicks.
The Blazers (9-6) were still adjusting to the loss of CJ McCollum to a broken left foot. Rodney Hood started McCollum’s job for the second game, and Portland also didn’t have Jusuf Nurkic with a broken right wrist.
Despite being short-staffed, the Blazers were rested after their two scheduled games against Memphis last week were canceled due to coronavirus protocol and contact tracing on the Grizzlies.
Portland’s last game had been a 125-104 loss last Monday to the San Antonio Spurs.
For their part, the Knicks were without Reggie Bullock for neck discomfort. Frank Ntilikina, who has been out since Dec. 29 with a sprained right knee, was available but did not play Austin Rivers returned after missing two games with a sore right Achilles tendon.
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