Trail Blazers Kick Off Homestand Against The Bulls

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (32-40) vs CHICAGO BULLS (34-38)
Mar. 24, 2023 — Moda Center — 7:00 pm PST
Regular Season Game #73 — Home Game #36
TV: ROOT SPORTS PLUS
RADIO: Rip City Radio 620 AM

ALL TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 67-64
PORTLAND HOME: Trail Blazers lead, 39-26
CHICAGO HOME: Bulls lead, 38-28

TRIPLE THREAT: Portland has three players averaging 20 or more points this season: Damian Lillard (32.2), Anfernee Simons (21.1) and Jerami Grant (20.5). The Trail Blazers have never had a season in which three players were averaging 20-plus points.

20 FOR 31: Damian Lillard recorded his 24th straight game with 20-plus points on March 3 at Atlanta, marking the longest streak of his career. Lillard extended the streak to 32 games on March 22 at Utah when he posted 30 points, marking the longest current active streak of 20-plus point games in the NBA this season.

Lillard's Longest Streaks of 20-Plus Point Games:
32 Jan. 8-March 22, 2023
23 Jan. 3-March 6, 2020
21 Feb. 2-March 19, 2021

SHARPE SHOOTING: Shaedon Sharpe recorded his 66th 3PM on March 12 at New Orleans, breaking a tie with Martell Webster (65) for the third most 3PM by a Trail Blazers rookie. He currenty has 75 3PM this season.

Most 3PM by a Trail Blazers Rookie:
185…..Damian Lillard
159…..Rudy Fernandez
75…….Shaedon Sharpe
65…….Martell Webster
62…….Nicolas Batum

REACHING NEW HEIGHTS: Shaedon Sharpe recorded multiple career highs on March 22 at Utah, finishing with 24 points, nine rebounds, four steals, four 3PM and 40 minutes.

DAME DIMES: On March 22 at Utah, Damian Lillard passed Andre Iguodala (5,147) and José Calderón (5,148) to move up to the No. 66 spot on the NBA’s all-time assists list.

He currently has 5,151 career assists.
NBA All-Time Leaders for Career Assists (Nos. 60-70):

MOVING ON UP: On March 14 vs. New York, Damian Lillard passed Bob Lanier (19,248) on the NBA’s all-time scoring list to move up to the No. 59 spot. He entered the season at No. 85 with 17,665 career points and currently has 19,346 career points.

NBA All-Time Scoring List (No. 50-60):

ANOTHER ONE: Damian Lillard recorded his second triple-double of the season and third of his career on March 6 at Detroit with 31 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists,
becoming the ninth player in franchise history to record multiple triple-doubles in a season. Lillard has scored 30- plus points in all three of his career triple-doubles, marking the second most triple-doubles with 30 or more points in franchise history.

DAME DIMES: On March 14 vs. New York, Damian Lillard passed Ricky Rubio (5,123) to move up to the No. 68 spot on the NBA’s all-time assists list. He currently has 5,125 career assists.

LORDY, LORDY, LOOK WHO GOT 40: With 41 points on March 1 vs. New Orleans, Damian Lillard passed Adrian Dantley to move up to the No. 17 spot for the most games with 40 or more points in NBA history. He currently has 54 career games
with 40-plus points and 14 this season, which is the most in the NBA.

FEBRUARY FREE THROWS: Damian Lillard shot 96.3% (105-of-109) from the line in February. Lillard and Dirk Nowitzki are the only players in NBA history to make 100-plus free throws in a month while shooting at least 95% from the line.

OH, WHAT A NIGHT: Damian Lillard scored a career-high and franchise record 71 points (22-38 FG, 13-22 3P, 14-14 FT) on Feb. 26 vs. Houston, tying Donovan Mitchell for the most points in a game this season.

• His 71 points are tied for the eighth-highest scoring game in NBA history.

• Became the first player in NBA history with 70- plus points, five-plus rebounds, five-plus assists and 10-plus 3PM in a game.

• Became the oldest player with a 70-point game in NBA history.

• Had an 80.4% true shooting percentage, the highest in a 70-point game in NBA history.

• Recorded 71 points in the fewest minutes played in a 70-point game in NBA history (39:11).

• Became the first player to have multiple 60-point games in a single season since himself in 2019-20.

• Scored 54 more points than anyone else in the game, the largest difference between the top scorers in a game since Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game in 2006.

• His 13 3PM set a new franchise record.

Trail Blazers 127, Jazz 115 – March 22, 2023 – Moda Center – Game #72 (32-40, 15-22 Away)

Portland defeated Utah by a final score of 127-115 ... Damian Lillard tallied a team-high 30 points (8-19 FG, 2-10 3P, 12-14 FT) and 12 assists in 34 minutes ... Shaedon Sharpe recorded a career-high 24 points (9-19 FG, 4-7 3P, 2-3 FT), nine rebounds and four steals in 40 minutes ... Trendon Watford posted 21 points (9-16 FG, 1-3 3P, 2-2 FT), nine rebounds, five assists, one steal and two blocks in 35 minutes ... Jusuf Nurkic finished with 20 points (7-12 FG, 2-5 3P, 4-6 FT), four rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block in 31 minutes ... Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with 40 points and 12 rebounds in 33 minutes.

Trail Blazers 117, Clippers 102 – March 19, 2023 – Moda Center – Game #71 (31-40, 17-18 Home)

The Trail Blazers fell to the Clippers by a final score of 117-102 ... Jusuf Nurkic finished with a team-high 23 points (9-14 FG, 2-3 3P, 3-4 FT) and 11 rebounds to go along with five assists and two blocks in 27 minutes ... Damian Lillard posted 21 points (4-17 FG, 1-8 3P, 12-13 FT), seven rebounds, nine assists, one steal and one block in 39 minutes ... Anfernee Simons recorded 16 points (6-15 FG, 1-7 3P, 3-3 FT), three rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block in 33 minutes ... Paul George led the Clippers with a game-high 29 points to go along with nine rebounds to go along with nine rebounds, four assists, four steals and one block in 35 minutes.

Celtics 126, Trail Blazers 112 – March 17, 2023 – Moda Center – Game #70 (31-39, 17-17 Home)

Portland fell to Boston by a final score of 126-112 ... Damian Lillard finished with a game-high 41 points (12-23 FG, 6-15 3P, 11-14 FT), four rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block in 37 minutes ... Anfernee Simons posted 17 points (5-15 FG, 2-7 3P, 5-8 FT), four assists and one steal in 39 minutes ... Matisse Thybulle recorded 12 points (4-9 FG, 2-6 3P, 2-2 FT) and two steals in 21 minutes ... Trendon Watford tallied 10 points (4-7 FG, 2-3 3P), eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals in 34 minutes ... Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 34 points and 12 rebounds in 36 minutes.

Knicks 123, Trail Blazers 107 – March 14, 2023 – Moda Center – Game #69 (31-38, 17-16 Home)

The Trail Blazers fell to the Knicks by a final score of 123-107 … Damian Lillard recorded a game-high 38 points (11-26 FG, 8-17 3P, 8-9 FT) to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists in 39 minutes … Anfernee Simons tallied 22 points (7-20 FG, 3-11 3P, 5-6 FT) in 34 minutes … Matisse Thybulle posted 15 points (6-11 FG, 2-5 3P, 1-2 FT), eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block in 38 minutes … Jusuf Nurkic posted 10 points (5-11 FG, 0-2 3P, 0-1 FT), 10 rebounds, three assists and one block in 28 minutes … Trendon Watford logged 10 points (4-12 FG, 2-2 3P), six rebounds, four assists and three steals in 40 minutes … Immanuel Quickley led New York with 26 points to go along with 10 rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes … Julius Randle put up a double-double for the Knicks with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Trail Blazers 110, Pelicans 127 -- March 12, 2023 -- Smoothie King Center -- Game #68 (31-37, 14-22 Away)

Portland fell to New Orleans by a final score of 127-110 ... Anfernee Simons posted 17 points (7-15 FG, 2-7 3P, 1-1 FT), two rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes ... Shaedon Sharpe tallied 14 points (5-7 FG, 2-3 3P, 2-3 FT), four rebounds and three assists in 22 minutes ... Kevin Knox II finished with 14 points (6-7 FG, 2-3 3P) and five rebounds in 12 minutes ... Cam Reddish recorded 11 points (4-8 FG, 0-4 3P, 3-4 FT), four rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes ... The Trail Blazers outscored the Pelicans 64-44 in the paint ... Trey Murphy III led New Orleans with a game-high 41 points to go along with seven rebounds, one steal and one block in 30 minutes.

Damian Lillard (Right Calf Tightness)is listed as PROBABLE, Jusuf Nurkic (Right Knee Soreness) and Nassir Little (Concussion Protocol) are QUESTIONABLE and Anfernee Simons (Right Foot Soreness), Jerami Grant (left quad contusion), Ibou Badji (left knee soreness) and Justise Winslow (left ankle sprain) are OUT for Friday's game.

For the Bulls, Javonte Green (Right Knee Surgery) is PROBABLE, DeMar DeRozan (Right Quadricep Strain) and Alex Caruso (Left Midfoot Soreness) are QUESTIONABLE and Lonzo Ball (Left Knee Surgery), Carlik Jones (G League On Assignment), Justin Lewis (Right Knee Surgery; ACL Reconstruction), Marko Simonovic (G League On Assignment), and Terry Taylor (G League Two-Way) are OUT for Friday's game.

Tip for Friday's game is scheduled for 7:00 pm PT. All Portland Trail Blazers regular season and preseason games will be broadcast on the Trail Blazers Broadcasting flagship station, Rip City Radio 620 AM. Travis Demers begins his fourth full season providing play-by-play commentary for all home and away games, with Michael Holton adding commentary.

On television, ROOT SPORTS PLUS will air 81 Trail Blazers regular season games featuring Kevin Calabro calling play-by-play, Lamar Hurd providing analysis and Brooke Olzendam reporting from the sideline. Between ROOT SPORTS PLUS, TNT and ESPN, all 82 regular season games will be televised. For all viewing visit www.trailblazers.com/watch.