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Damian Lillard scores 33 in Portland Trail Blazers' victory

By Jeff Washburn, The Sports Xchange

INDIANAPOLIS -- Opponents have feasted recently on the Indiana Pacers' inability to defend 3-pointers, and the red-hot Portland Trail Blazers joined that party on Sunday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Guard Damian Lillard scored a game-high 33 points, including five 3-pointers, and Portland used 3-point shooting as the catalyst in a 111-102 victory against the struggling Pacers.

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Portland (32-28), which has won 13 of its last 15 and 18 of 25, made 14 of 24 shots from 3-point range to sweep the two-game series with Indiana (31-28), which has lost three of its last four home games.

In the two victories against Indiana, Portland made 32 3-pointers.

In their three most recent games -- all at home -- the Pacers have allowed New York, Charlotte and now Portland to make a collective 38 of 78 (48.7 percent) from beyond the arc. In those three games, Indiana made only 10 of 48 shots from 3-point range (20.8 percent).

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"We just tried to come out and be in attack mode from the very beginning and establish the tempo," said Lillard, who scored 31 in Portland's Saturday night victory in Chicago. "This has been fun right now with everyone putting it together. We are more consistent."

Reserve guard Gerald Henderson's 3-pointer -- Portland's 14th -- with 5:37 remaining gave the Trail Blazers a 109-88 advantage, prompting a Pacers timeout.

Henderson and guard C.J. McCollum each added 19 for the Trail Blazers, and 7-footer Meyers Leonard finished with 17. Forward Al-Farouq Aminu scored 10.

"I liked the way we played tonight, just coming in here on a back-to-back and scoring the ball the way we did against a very good defensive team," Portland coach Terry Stotts said.

"We shared the ball, and our offense was consistent throughout the night. Tonight, Damian was really feeling it and got into a rhythm."

Indiana got 18 points from guard Monta Ellis, 15 from forward Jordan Hill, 14 from guard George Hill and 11 from forward Paul George, who made only 4 of 15 field-goal attempts, including 0 of 4 from behind the arc. The Pacers made only 3 of 14 attempts from 3-point range.

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"We have to start guarding the 3-point line, and we have to make more 3s," frustrated Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Really, we have to guard better, period. It also was an off night for our offense."

Overall, Indiana shot 43 percent, 40 of 93.

Leonard scored 11 points in a 1:42 stretch to end the third quarter and begin the fourth, pushing the Trail Blazers into a 95-79 lead with 10:16 remaining. Back-to-back 3-pointers from McCollum and Lillard extended the Portland advantage to 103-83 with 7:56 to play.

After Indiana had pulled to within four, the Trail Blazers countered with a 22-6 run.

A three-point play and a 3-pointer from Ellis helped cut the Portland lead to 81-77 with 2:14 remaining in the third quarter, but the Trail Blazers finished the period on a 6-0 run, capped by a Leonard 3-pointer at the buzzer, to increase their advantage to 87-77 with 12 minutes to play.

Lillard scored 23 first-half points, including 20 in the first quarter, and McCollum added 14 before intermission, helping the Trail Blazers lead 65-54 through 24 minutes. Henderson came off the bench for 12 first-half points, making all six of his field-goal attempts.

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Lillard, McCollum and Henderson were a collective 18 of 28 from the field (64.3 percent) during the first two quarters when the Trail Blazers led by as many as 14.

Portland shot 55.8 percent (24 of 43) from the field, made 12 of 14 free throws and out-rebounded Indiana 24-21.

Forward Myles Turner and Ellis each scored eight first-half points for the Pacers, who shot 45.8 percent (22 of 48).

"We have to guard the 3-point line, and to do that, we have to lock into our defensive assignments and hold each other accountable," Turner said.

NOTES: Indiana was without G/F C.J. Miles (strained left calf). ... Indiana F Paul George began the day ranked fourth in the NBA in 3-pointers made with 157. ... The Pacers are 3-4 over their last six games, a stretch that included two losses to the Charlotte Hornets. ... Through Saturday's games, Portland was the NBA's eighth-highest-scoring team at 103.5 points. ... The Pacers ranked fourth in steals per game at 9.1 and were fifth in opponents' 3-point field-goal percentage (.330). ... The Blazers won the teams' other meeting this season, 123-111 on Dec. 3 in Portland. ... Through their Friday loss to Charlotte, Indiana was 7-8 in one-possession games.

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