The New Orleans Pelicans suffered another late-game collapse on Tuesday, opening the door for Damian Lillard and the Blazers to steal a 125-124 win in Portland.
A series of gaffe’s by New Orleans, who led by 17 points with 5:56 left, in the final minutes gave Lillard a chance to capitalize late and the All-Star guard did just that. Two missed free throws by Brandon Ingram could have sealed the game with 7.2 seconds left with New Orleans up three points.
The Pelicans opted to foul up three points and Lillard knocked down both free throws to cut the lead to one point. The ensuing in-bound bounced off Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s hands and out of bounds, giving the Blazers a chance to win the game.
Eric Bledsoe would foul Lillard on a jumper with 1.2 seconds left and Lillard knocked down both to give Portland the lead. Lonzo Ball’s full-court pass found Zion Williamson, whose leaning shot just outside the paint bounced off the rim.
Brandon Ingram had 30 points, Williamson had 28 and Ball had 11 points and a career-high 17 assists in the loss for New Orleans.