OREGON – Anfernee Simons took over the scoring chores for the decimated Portland Trail Blazers as they scored a 136-131 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021-2022 NBA Season on Monday night (Tuesday in the Philippines) at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
Starting in place of absent Damian Lillard, Simons converted nine three-point conversions. He finished with a career-high 43 points to go with seven assists and three rebounds.
Simons, a former NBA Slam Dunk champion, also showed steadiness in the endgame. He converted six free throws down the stretch for Portland to prevent Atlanta’s fight back.
Norman Powell added 26 markers. Nazzir Little contributed 22 points while Jusuf Nurkic made his return from coronavirus disease 2019 health and safety protocols to tally double-double 21 points and 12 rebounds.
The victory snapped the Trail Blazers’ four-game losing skid. They improved to 14-22 despite missing five players led by stars Lillard (abdominal tendiopathy) and CJ McCollum (right lung pneumothorax).
Trae Young also finished with career-high 56 points to go with 14 assists; Clint Capela added double-double 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Kevin Huerter ended up with 18 points for the Hawks (16-20).
Meanwhile, Golden State Warriors (29-7) made clutch baskets in the endgame. It scored a 115-108 triumph over shorthanded Miami Heat (23-15) at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California.
After seeing their double-digit edge trimmed to 104-108, the Warriors got consecutive hits from Gary Payton II and Jordan Poole as the lead widened to 115-104 with over a minute left.
Poole led the Warriors with 32 points, including five three-point conversions, Andrew Wiggins and Payton added 22 and 14, respectively, while Nemanja Bjelica and Otto Porter Jr. had 10 each for Golden State.
Warriors star Stephen Curry was held to single digit scoring for the first time this season with nine points, on 1-of-10 three-point shooting, to go with 10 assists.
BOX SCORE:
PORTLAND 136 — Simons 43, Powell 26, Little 22, Nurkic 21, McLemore 10, Watford 5, Covington 4, Smith 3, Nance 2.
ATLANTA 131 — Young 56, Capela 22, Huerter 18, Luwawu-Cabarrot 8, Okongwu 8, Wright 8, Gallinari 7, Mays 4, Williams 0.
Quarterscores: 36-32, 70-65, 100-105, 136-131./PN
