Lillard´s 51 points powers Trail Blazers past Warriors, Bulls end skid
The Golden State Warriors’ 11-game winning streak came to an end against a Damian Lillard-inspired Portland Trail Blazers, who triumphed 137-105 in the NBA on Friday.
Lillard exploded with career-high 51 points, seven rebounds and six steals, while the MVP candidate also made nine-of-12 from three-point range as the Trail Blazers upstaged the defending champions.
Stephen Curry had 31 points for the beaten Warriors, who were aided by Klay Thompson’s 23 points.
The Chicago Bulls snapped a five-game losing streak with a 116-106 win over the Toronto Raptors.
Chicago were playing without Jimmy Butler, Nikola Mirotic and Joakim Noah but Doug McDermott stepped up with a career-high 30 points to return the Bulls to winning ways.
Derrick Rose added 26 points, while Pau Gasol contributed 18 points and 11 rebounds in a double-double performance for the Bulls, who claimed just their fifth win in 20 games.
Kyle Lowry’s 27 points led the Raptors, who suffered an eighth-consecutive defeat to the Bulls.
The Charlotte Hornets extended their winning streak to four games by seeing off the Milwaukee Bucks 98-95.
The Hornets sealed the dramatic victory in Milwaukee after Khris Middleton missed an open look at the free-throw line to put the Bucks ahead with less than 18 seconds remaining.
Walker posted 25 points and Zeller had 23 of his own for the Hornets.
Elsewhere on Friday, the Miami Heat accounted for the Atlanta Hawks 115-111 despite the absence of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside.
Mike Conley and Vince Carter helped the Memphis Grizzlies past the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-104 and the New Orleans Pelicans outlasted the Philadelphia 76ers 121-114.
Monta Ellis posted 27 points and Paul George added 22 and 10 assists as the Indiana Pacers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 101-98, the Detroit Pistons fell 98-86 to the Washington Wizards, the Brooklyn Nets downed the New York Knicks 109-98 and the Orlando Magic trumped the Dallas Mavericks 110-104.
The Houston Rockets accounted for the Phoenix Suns 116-110, the Denver Nuggets lost to the Sacramento Kings 110-116, the Utah Jazz accounted for the Boston Celtics 111-93, while the San Antonio Spurs edged past the Los Angeles Lakers 119-113.
