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McCollum, Nurkic lead Trail Blazers over Raptors, 114-105

TORONTO (AP) - CJ McCollum had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Jusuf Nurkic had 11 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Toronto Raptors 114-105 on Sunday night.

Anfernee Simons and Nassir Little each had 19 points and Ben McLemore had 17 for the Blazers, who never trailed.

Pascal Siakam scored 28 points and Fred VanVleet had 19 for Toronto, which fell behind by 34 points in the first half before cutting the gap to four, 105-101, on a 3 from VanVleet with 1:24 remaining.

But Simons answered VanVleet's late 3 with two of his own, putting Portland up 111-101 with 40 seconds left.

'œThey fought like crazy to get themselves a chance to win this game, and (Simons) hit a couple of daggers,'ť Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said.

Gary Trent Jr. scored 13 points for the Raptors, while Chris Boucher and OG Anunoby each had 11.

Playing his fourth game since returning from a collapsed right lung, McCollum shot 8 for 12, including 3 for 5 from distance, while adding six assists and a pair of steals.

'œWe're building in the right direction,'ť McCollum said.

Little credited McCollum for his dependability and experience on offense.

'œHe's a guy who can get that bucket when you need it,'ť Little said. 'œHe's so creative and the way he handles the ball, he just commands the defense to pay attention to him.'ť

Portland finished a six-game road trip at 4-2. The Blazers are 6-15 on the road.

'œIt was an incredible trip for us,'ť Billups said. 'œI'm so proud of our guys. We're just becoming a real unit. I'm really happy about that.'ť

Billups said time off between games helped keep his team fresh throughout the lengthy road swing.

'œWe were fortunate on this trip that we didn't have back-to-backs at all,'ť he said. 'œWe were able to play our butts off, play hard as heck and rest the next day. I felt differently than any other long trip, where that last game you're so tired and bogged down. I didn't feel that way about us.'ť

After a five-game road trip in mostly-full arenas, Toronto played at home, where fans have not been permitted since Dec. 31.

Raptors coach Nick Nurse said his team had 'œsuper-low energy" in the return to the crowd-free environment.

'œUsually we'll try everybody and anybody, keep moving guys around and try to find a unit that works,'ť Nurse said. 'œWe couldn't really get that done either.'ť

A frustrated Nurse said the absence of home support 'œsucks,'ť but refused to pin blame on a lack of fans.

'œThat is not the issue,'ť Nurse said. 'œIt's really disappointing. Right, wrong, or indifferent, whatever your thoughts are, it's just hard.'ť

Portland connected on six of its first eight field-goal attempts, while the Raptors made just one of their first 16.

Little scored 10 in the first quarter to help the Trail Blazers jump out to a 25-4 lead and held a 33-15 edge going into the second quarter.

Toronto missed five straight shots to start the second and didn't score until Anunoby's dunk with 7:41 left in the half. The Raptors had the final four points of the quarter, but trailed 64-34 at the intermission.

'œSo many guys had it going,'ť Billups said, 'œand we were able to have that beautiful first half.'ť

The Raptors had almost as many turnovers in the opening half (10) as they had made baskets (11). Toronto responded with a 33-point third period, including 11 from Siakam, and trailed 86-67 heading to the fourth.

TIP-INS

Trail Blazers: Former Raptors G Norm Powell missed his third straight game for personal reasons, but Billups said he hopes Powell will rejoin the team soon.

Raptors: Set season-lows for first-quarter points and first-half points. '¦ C Khem Birch (fractured nose) missed his fifth straight game.

ROOM WITH A VIEW

Billups played 29 games for Toronto in 1997-98, his rookie season. Back then, the Raptors played home games at SkyDome, now Rogers Centre, the retractable-roofed home of baseball's Blue Jays. During his brief time north of the border, Billups lived in the stadium hotel, where the rooms overlook the field.

'œYou could look out of my hotel room right onto the court,'ť Billups said. 'œThere were so many crazy things that I laugh about, but I loved my time here. It was fun.'ť

UP NEXT

Trail Blazers: Host Minnesota on Tuesday.

Raptors: Host Charlotte on Tuesday.

___

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, left, battles past Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Sunday Jan. 23, 2022. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press
Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) battles with Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) for a rebound during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Sunday Jan. 23, 2022. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press
Portland Trail Blazers guard Ben McLemore, left, drives past Toronto Raptors forward Precious Achiuwa, right, during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Sunday Jan. 23, 2022. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press
Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet (23) fouls Portland Trail Blazers forward Nassir Little (9) during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Sunday Jan. 23, 2022. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press
Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby (3) turns on Portland Trail Blazers forward Nassir Little (9) during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Sunday Jan. 23, 2022. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press
Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ Elleby (16) drives past Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Sunday Jan. 23, 2022. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press
Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet (23) shoots as Portland Trail Blazers forward Nassir Little (9) defends during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Sunday Jan. 23, 2022. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press
Toronto Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. (33) battles with Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons (1) during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Sunday Jan. 23, 2022. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press
Portland Trail Blazers guard Dennis Smith Jr. (10) drives between Toronto Raptors guard Dalano Banton (45) and forward Scottie Barnes during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Sunday Jan. 23, 2022. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press
Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (43) drives past Portland Trail Blazers forward Nassir Little (9) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Toronto, Sunday Jan. 23, 2022. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press
Portland Trail Blazers forward Trendon Watford (2) rebounds against Toronto Raptors forward Precious Achiuwa (5) during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Sunday Jan. 23, 2022. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press
Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons, center, passes the ball under pressure from Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (43) and guard Fred VanVleet (23) during second-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Sunday Jan. 23, 2022. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press
Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet (23) sits on the bench during a timeout late in second-half NBA basketball game action against the Portland Trail Blazers in Toronto, Sunday Jan. 23, 2022. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) The Associated Press
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