Shaedon Sharpe scored 25 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a fourth consecutive victory, a 121-102 triumph over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday in New York.
Sharpe made 9 of 14 attempts from the field while also dishing out five assists. Dalano Banton finished with 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter, and he grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
Portland’s Toumani Camara added 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting, while Scoot Henderson chipped in 12 points and a game-high nine assists.
Cam Thomas made his return for Brooklyn after missing nearly two months with a hamstring injury, scoring 16 points on 7-of-17 shooting in his first game since Jan. 2. Nic Claxton added 16 points and five rebounds, Killian Hayes also had 16 points and Cameron Johnson contributed 14 points as the Nets took their third loss in a row.
The Trail Blazers made their first 10 shots from the field, culminating with a Camara 3-pointer that gave Portland a 25-18 lead. Sharpe scored 14 points in the opening quarter, helping the Trail Blazers take an eight-point lead into the second.
The visitors took full control in the second quarter, outscoring Brooklyn 31-22 in the frame to take a 17-point halftime lead. Portland pushed the lead to a then-game-high 21 points almost immediately after the break, as Kris Murray sank a basket and a 3-pointer to make the score 71-50.
Brooklyn managed to trim the deficit to nine points entering the fourth quarter by closing the third on an 8-0 run. That was as close as Brooklyn would get, however, as the Trail Blazers opened the fourth quarter with a 16-6 run that once again put them in control.
Two free throws from Banton with 6:52 to go make it 109-88, and Portland led by as many as 26 points in the late going.
The Trail Blazers made 45 of 78 attempts (57.7 percent) from the field, shooting 15 of 36 (41.7 percent) from 3-point range. The Nets made 36 of 86 (41.9 percent) of their field-goal attempts, including 7 of 29 (24.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
