PORTLAND, Ore. — Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum were the stars of the Trail Blazers 111-98 win in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday against the Thunder.
It's been that way all series. Lillard is averaging 28.8 points per game in the playoffs, tied with Golden State's Kevin Durant for the playoffs' leading scorer. And Lillard and McCollum are the highest-scoring duo in the playoffs this season, combining for 55.1 points per game.
Portland's starting backcourt was at it again in Game 4. McCollum hit five 3-pointers and led the Blazers with 27 points. And Lillard shook off a slow start to finish with 24 points and eight assists. He scored 15 of his 24 points in the third quarter, when Portland outscored the Thunder 29-22 to take control of the game.
"I didn't feel the need to get overly aggressive in the first half, once I saw how the game was going," Lillard said. "But then in the third, I felt like that was the time when we needed to hit the gas."
BOX SCORE: Trail Blazers 111, Thunder 98
As brilliant as Lillard and McCollum were Sunday, they didn't have to carry the Blazers on their own. Portland got contributions up and down the roster, whether it was Al-Farouq Aminu's 3-point accuracy and aggressive defense, Maurice Harkless two-way contributions, or the combined excellence of the Blazers' center tandem of Enes Kanter and Zach Collins.
Aminu hit four 3-pointers and finished with 19 points and nine rebounds. He's averaging 11.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and shooting 40 percent from the 3-point line in this series.
"[Aminu] gives a great effort every night," said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. "We ask him to do a lot of things at the defensive end, to rebound. He's probably a better shooter than people give him credit for."
Harkless harassed Thunder star forward Paul George into a 9-for-21 shooting performance, and filled out the box score himself with 15 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals. And Kanter, the starting center, and Collins, the backup, combined for 18 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in 46 minutes.
"Harkless was really good defensively. He's been good defensively throughout the series. He's been on Paul George most of the series [and] he's given him a lot of attention," Stotts said. "Enes [Kanter's{ interior defense has been very good, both he and Zach [Collins] did a nice job protecting the paint and protecting the rim."
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It added up to a complete team performance that quieted an Oklahoma City team that spent much of Game 3 taunting and mocking the Blazers. Russell Westbrook, especially, was a non-factor in 40 minutes, missed 16 of 21 shots and finishing with 14 points. He scored just one point after halftime as the Blazers ran away with the game.
Now the series returns to Portland for Game 5 on Tuesday night, where the Blazers can win it in front of their fans at the Moda Center.
"Up and down the roster, we're locked in and we're giving good effort. We need one more game like that," Stotts said.
Jared Cowley writes about the Trail Blazers and other topics for KGW.com. He's also the host of the 3-on-3 Blazers podcast (listen here). You can reach him on Twitter @jaredcowley.
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Postgame
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Trail Blazers 111, Thunder 98