Trail Blazers silence Thunder; Heat trip Raptors

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)