CJ McCollum, Seth Curry, and Zach Collins reemerge as Portland Trail Blazers defeat Chicago Bulls

On the backs of several impressive performances from struggling players, the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Chicago Bulls, 124-112.

The Portland Trail Blazers won their third straight game, beating the Chicago Bulls, 124-112. For much of the first half, the Bulls stayed in step with the Blazers; that is, until Portland’s intensity ramped up and Chicago’s turnovers crippled them. The Blazers improve to 25-17, as the Bulls fall to 10-31.

But more interesting than the win over a bottom-feeding Eastern Conference foe is the fact several Trail Blazers who had been struggling recently reemerged throughout the game. Key among those were CJ McCollum, Seth Curry, and Zach Collins.

CJ McCollum

What was once a slow start for McCollum has morphed into an altogether down year. He is averaging less points and assists than he has in three years and is shooting the worst three-point percentage of his career (.329). Tonight may have been the first step in getting his groove back.

McCollum finished the game with 24 points, four assists, and three rebounds on 10-14 shooting, including 2-4 from deep. From the tip he was aggressive in finding his spots on the floor, whether that be for a floater at the top of the key, a layup at the rim, or an open three.

He also showed up some fancy footwork and dribbling moves against a variety of Bulls players:

There was also a sort of patience to his game, too. In the past, he can occasionally pop off the screen when he begins forcing his offense – especially when playing with the second-unit or things get stagnant. This time around, he almost blended into the team, playing the role of the team’s most consistent and accurate shooter.

He won’t always be so reliable, but a CJ that can fit within the offense will no doubt benefit the team more than one who starts trying to do too much.

Seth Curry

Tonight, Seth Curry played the way so many people assumed he would when he first signed with Rip City. After being in and out of the rotation, looking passive and like he didn’t fit, his game against Chicago was a welcomed sight.

He finished with 17 points on 7-11 shooting and 3-5 from deep.

Throughout the game, he made plays with both his shooting and ball-handling. Early, he knocked down a triple and then used this make to attack the harder close-outs the Bulls sent towards him – in one instance, he found Evan Turner wide open who made a play to Meyers Leonard; in another, he drove all the way to the bucket to lay it in.

He also found his way out of a trap right at the half-court line, which led to an easy Meyers Leonard alley-oop:

The Bulls gave Seth Curry lemons, and he made lemonade.

Zach Collins

Following an impressive first month of the season, Zach Collins has been mostly “meh.” Though he’s been important to the team’s success – they’ve won every game he’s finished with a positive plus-minus (17-0) – he has lately seemed more like just-a-guy rather than a budding weapon.

In this game, he got back to being first-month-of-the-season-Zach. He finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, and four assists, while shooting 6-9 from the floor and 2-3 from three-point range. He tied Curry for a game-high +15.

Collins’s one block also came at a crucial time in the third quarter. In fact, it was this sequence, where Damian Lillard has an incredible finish at the rim and Collins follows it up with a huge block, that broke the game open:

From here, the game’s result never felt too much in question.

Honorable Mention: Nik Stauskas

The man we call Sauce Castillo also deserves a shout-out for his performance in this one. Nik Stauskas had recently fallen out of the rotation, but due to Maurice Harkless‘s left knee injury flaring up again, Head Coach Terry Stotts found 15 minutes for him.

In this time, Stauskas put up eight points, including two early three-pointers, to go along with three rebounds and three assists. His production helped lift the Blazers in what was a close first half.

His performance was certainly good enough to keep him in the rotation if Harkless sits again. It may have even been good enough to take some of Jake Layman‘s time, who was fairly lackluster tonight.

Only time will tell.

For what it’s worth….

Damian Lillard notched a double-double in this one with 16 points and 10 assists.

Jusuf Nurkic put up a very solid 18-point, eight-rebound night in only 20 minutes.

Both Anfernee Simons and Gary Trent Jr. got on the board when the game had gotten out of reach.

Chicago’s Wendell Carter Jr. put up a team-high 22 points along with six boards and an assists. Zach LaVine had 18 with three assists and two rebounds. And Kris Dunn finished with 15 points, seven assists, five boards, and two steals.

Coming up next, the Portland Trail Blazers face the Charlotte Hornets on January 11 at 7:00 P.S.T.