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Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum (3) drives to the basket in front of Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Image Credit: USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles: C.J. McCollum scored 27 points and passed off seven assists to lead the Portland Trail Blazers over Oklahoma City 117-06 in an NBA matchup Tuesday.

Shabazz Napier added 21 points and Bosnian big man Jusuf Nurkic had 20 for the Trail Blazers (22-18), who edged ahead of the host Thunder (22-19) for fifth place in the Western Conference. Damian Lillard missed his second game in a row with a strained right calf, Napier starting in his place. “That was a big win. It was for fifth place,” McCollum said. “Damian will be coming back any day now. We’ve got to keep the ship afloat until he gets back.” (AFP)