The Portland Trail Blazers took advantage of a shorthanded New York Knicks squad in the second-half of TNT's double-header and rode their rookie Damian Lillard to a 105-90 victory.
Knicks vs. Trail Blazers final score: Damian Lillard leads Blazers to 105-90 victory
The shorthanded New York Knicks were no match for Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers.
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Carmelo Anthony did not play after having his knee drained earlier in the day. He left the third-quarter early on Wednesday due to soreness in his knee and is considered questionable Sunday when the Knicks travel to Los Angeles to face the Clippers.
The Blazers spread the ball throughout their starters, led by Lillard's 26 points and 10 assists. J.J. Hickson dominated the glass for 16 rebounds as he notched in another double-double on the season. LaMarcus Aldridge also had a double-double, scoring 22 points while picking up 10 rebounds.
J.R. Smith had the keys to the Knicks offense and scored a game-high 33 points off the bench on 21 field goal attempts. Smith scored 37 percent of the Knicks' 90 points.
With Anthony, Tyson Chandler, and Amar'e Stoudemire all out of the lineup the Knicks lacked the players needed to simply put the ball in the basket. In the third quarter they scored only 14 points. New York's second and third quarter scoring totals combined for only 32 points after scoring 30 points in the first quarter alone.
The Knicks are now only one game ahead of the Brooklyn Nets in the Eastern Conference standings.
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