Lillard Leads Blazers Past Struggling Hornets

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Charlotte Hornets dropped their sixth straight game Wednesday night, falling to the Portland Trail Blazers 105-95.

Portland stumbled into the matchup a bit shorthanded as they were without Jusuf Nurkic and Jerami Grant. Drew Eubanks filled in at the center spot in the Blazers' starting lineup and made an impact in the opening minutes of the game, notching eight of Portland's first ten points.

For the Hornets, Dennis Smith Jr. and Kelly Oubre Jr. each recorded nine points in the opening frame but the two would cool off considerably. Smith went scoreless in the second quarter while Oubre notched one bucket.

Speaking of being held scoreless, Damian Lillard didn't collect his first points of the game until roughly the 8-minute mark in the second. With the quiet start from Dame, the Hornets led the entire first quarter and deep into the second. Lillard got into a groove with 14 points in the quarter, giving Portland a 58-53 at the half.

The third quarter was an absolute rollercoaster. Portland got sloppy with the ball and couldn't buy a shot for the first five minutes or so. Charlotte went on a 19-4 run where they scored 16 unanswered to go up 12, 72-60. That lead didn't last long, though. Lillard ushered an 18-2 run with a trio of three balls to give the Blazers the lead back.

The Hornets hung around despite trailing by as many as 13 midway through the fourth. A mini 6-0 run made it 100-93, but Charlotte came up empty-handed on the offensive end in the final four minutes which allowed Portland to pull away.

The Hornets will be back in action tomorrow night in South Beach to take on the Miami Heat. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST.

BOX SCORE

POR: 25;33;28;19;105

CHA: 30;23;26;16;95

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