PORTLAND, Ore. — Forwards Paul Millsap and Kent Bazemore scored 23 points apiece to lead the Atlanta Hawks past the Portland Trail Blazers 104-98 Wednesday night at the Moda Center.
Center Al Horford added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Hawks (26-17), who won their third straight game.
Guard CJ McCollum scored 28 points and guard Damian Lillard added 18 for the Trail Blazers (19-26).
Millsap scored 13 points to guide Atlanta to a 48-43 halftime advantage. McCollum had 15 first-half points for the Blazers.
The Hawks hiked the bulge to 66-56 midway through the third quarter, then settled for a 74-72 lead heading into the final period.
Lillard’s four-point play touched off a 9-0 run that gave Portland an 84-79 lead. Atlanta, with back-to-back 3’s by Bazemore and guard Kyle Korver, answered with an 8-0 spurt to go back in front 87-84.
Horford scored on a 3-pointer and a short jumper to give the Hawks a 98-92 advantage with 1:53 to play.
McCollum scored on a drive to cut the margin to 98-94 with 1:42 left. Horford answered with a bank shot to make it 100-94 with 1:22 to go. McCollum’s leaner cut the lead to 100-96 with 47 seconds remaining.
Neither team scored again until Bazemore made a pair of foul shots with 13.4 ticks left. Portland forward Meyers Leonard scored on a put-back two seconds later, but Bazemore sealed it with two more at the line with 8.3 seconds on the clock.
Portland made five of their first seven shots from the field en route to an 11-4 lead. The Blazers missed their last nine shots of the first quarter and Atlanta closed with a 25-7 run to carry a 29-18 advantage into the second quarter.
Atlanta extended the lead to 41-29 before McCollum led a 13-2 surge that got the Blazers to within 43-42 late in the quarter. The Hawks took a five-point edge into intermission.
NOTES: The Hawks beat the Blazers 106-97 on Dec. 21 in Atlanta, but Portland was without the services of G Damian Lillard and G CJ McCollum. “I was hoping Terry would sit them out again tonight,” Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer quipped before the game. … Lillard’s rap video based on racial harmony, “Bigger Than Us,” debuted during TNT’s Martin Luther King Day coverage. “I was disappointed that TNT showed only an abbreviated version, but I was proud of the message that was sent,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said. … The Blazers began a seven-game homestand Wednesday night that covers 16 days. They won’t play again on the road until a Feb. 6 visit to Houston. … Portland plays host to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday. … Atlanta plays the Kings in Sacramento on Thursday.