Lillard scores 24, Blazers hold off NBA-best Raptors 128-122

Damian Lillard had 24 points and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a two-game slide with a confidence-boosting 128-122 victory over the NBA-leading Toronto Raptors on Friday night.

Zach Collins scored 16 points and Seth Curry added a season-high 13, including three key 3-pointers at the start of the fourth quarter. Both were part of a Portland bench that outscored Toronto's reserves 58-26.

Kawhi Leonard returned after missing two games and had 28 points for the Raptors (23-8), who played without All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry. Danny Green added 19 points and 11 rebounds, matching his season high with five 3s.

Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard, left, drives to the basket on Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. (AP PhotoSteve Dykes)

Portland led by 16 in the fourth quarter but Leonard and C.J. Miles made consecutive 3s to pull the Raptors to 117-113 with 2:44 left.

Lillard hit a 3-pointer for Portland before Leonard had another 3 and Fred VanVleet made a layup to get Toronto to 120-118. CJ McCollum and Al Farouq-Aminu answered with consecutive 3s to extend Portland's lead to 126-118 with just under a minute to go. Leonard dunked on the other end, but the Raptors couldn't get any closer.

Portland was in first place in the Western Conference after beating Washington on the road back on Nov. 18 to improve to 11-5. But the team lost eight of 11 going into Friday night's game to tumble into ninth in the conference.

Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, right, drives to the basket past Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. (AP PhotoSteve Dykes)

The Raptors, meanwhile, had lost just three previous games on the road this season.

The victory snapped a six-game Portland losing streak to the Raptors.

Lowry sat out with a left thigh bruise. VanVleet started in his place and finished with 21 points.

Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic, right, is called for a foul as he blocks the shot of Toronto Raptors forward Serge Ibaka, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. (AP PhotoSteve Dykes)

Lowry led the Raptors with 23 points in a 113-93 win over Golden State on Wednesday. The victory was costly, however. Jonas Valanciunas dislocated his thumb in the game and required surgery. He will be in a cast for the next four weeks. Valanciunas was averaging 12.8 points and 7.2 rebounds a game.

Portland was coming off a pair of losses on the road to Houston and Memphis.

The Blazers went up 42-31 in the first half after Meyers Leonard's alley-oop dunk from Evan Turner. Portland led by as many as 13 and went into the break in front 58-50.

Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic, right, blocks the shot of Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. (AP PhotoSteve Dykes)

Leonard, who was 0 for 5 from the field in the first half, had eight points to open the third quarter and his jumper got the Raptors to 59-64. But Leonard picked up his fourth foul later in the quarter and went to the bench for a while.

OG Anunoby's jumper closed the Raptors to 82-80 but Collins answered with a 3-pointer for the Blazers. After Portland had a 91-89 edge going into the fourth, Curry made a pair of 3-pointers and the Blazers pushed the lead to 101-90.

Curry hit another 3 to give Portland a 107-93 advantage.

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse yells to his team during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Portland Trail Blazers in Portland, Ore., Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. (AP PhotoSteve Dykes)

TIP-INS

Raptors: Former Oregon Ducks forward Chris Boucher was called up from the G-League on Thursday. He will help fill the void created by Valanciunas' absence. ... It was the third of a four-game road trip for Toronto.

Trail Blazers: It was Portland's third straight win at home. ... There was a sizable contingent of Raptors fans and several Canadian flags at the Moda Center. One group sang along loudly to the Canadian national anthem before the game.

UP NEXT

Raptors: Play at Denver on Sunday.

Trail Blazers: Portland has a one-game road trip to play the Clippers on Monday.

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Paolo Banchero had 31 points and 14 rebounds, Jalen Suggs added 24 points and the Orlando Magic handed Cleveland the worst playoff loss in franchise history, winning 121-83 on Thursday night to cut the Cavaliers’ lead to 2-1 in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Franz Wagner finished with 16 points and eight assists for the Magic, who led by 43 points in the fourth quarter on the way to the third-largest margin of victory in a playoff game. They earned their first playoff victory since 2019 and the first on their home floor since April 26, 2011.

They can even the series with a victory at home Sunday.

Jarrett Allen had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who shot 39% from the field and 23.5% from 3-point range. Caris LeVert added 15 points and Donovan Mitchell had 13 points and seven assists.

76ERS 125, KNICKS 114

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid scored 50 points, making all four 3-point attempts and scoring 18 in a potential series-shifting third quarter to lead Philadelphia to a win over New York in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Embiid boldly stated “we’re going to win this series” after the 76ers dropped Game 2.

With one of the finest postseason efforts of his career, Embiid became the third player to ever score 50 points against the Knicks in the postseason and kept the hope of a Philadelphia series comeback very much alive.

The Knicks lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday in Philadelphia.

Embiid was 13 of 19 from the floor overall, made 19 of 21 free throws and hit five 3-pointers.

NUGGETS 112, LAKERS 105

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Aaron Gordon had 29 points and 15 rebounds, Nikola Jokic added 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, and Denver moved to the brink of the second round with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of their first-round series..

Jamal Murray scored 22 points as the defending NBA champion Nuggets won their 11th consecutive meeting with LeBron James and the Lakers in dominating style.

Michael Porter Jr. added 20 points for Denver, which took control in the third quarter and cruised through the final minutes to its fifth straight road win over Los Angeles, starting with its sweep of last season’s Western Conference finals.

Game 4 is Saturday night in Los Angeles. No NBA team has ever rallied from an 0-3 playoff deficit.

Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony (50) makes a shot as he gets past Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill (5) during the second half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)