Lillard surpasses Nowitzki in NBA 3-point list, but Blazers still fall

April 13 ------ The Miami Heat spoiled a record-setting night by Damian Lillard after beating the Portland Trail Blazers on the road, 107-98, on Sunday, April 11 (Monday, April 12, Manila time). Lillard drained his 1,983rd triple to surpass NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki (1,982) for the 11th spot in the all-time three-pointers made list, but the Heat limited him just enough to score the victory. The Portland star made only 3 – all from long distance – of his 10 field goals to finish with 12 points, way below his average of 29.0 points, for his third-lowest-scoring game of the season. CJ McCollum and Norman Powell led the Trail Blazers with 17 points each. Bam Adebayo led the Heat with a game-high 22 points. Jimmy Butler added 20 points on top of game-highs of 5 assists and 4 steals.

The Heat played a clean game, with no turnovers in the first half. For the game, the Heat was plus-21 on points off turnovers. Portland coughed up the ball 17 times compared to just 8 for Miami. Miami played without starting guard Victor Oladipo (right knee). But Heat guard Tyler Herro played despite a sore right foot and scored 14 points.

Blazers center Enes Kanter, coming off a franchise-record 30 rebounds in their previous game, suffered an injury scare with 2:08 left in the 3rd quarter. Kanter, who collided heads with teammate Derrick Jones Jr, returned and finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds in 20 minutes. Portland, using an 11-0 run, led 31-25 after the 1st quarter. Portland dominated the boards, 13-3, while shooting 63.2% from the floor, 42.9% on three-pointers (3-for-7), and 4-for-4 on the foul line. Miami charged back to take a 56-48 halftime lead. The Heat had a 20-0 advantage on first-half points off of turnovers. Adebayo led all first-half scorers with 15. The Heat stretched their lead to 89-71 by the end of the 3rd quarter. Miami was plus-24 on points off turnovers through 3 quarters. Miami cruised in the 4th, winning despite getting outrebounded 41-30.

Source: rappler.com