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#3 CJ McCollum sends the Grizzlies home: NBA Play-in Tournament
CJ McCollum came up big for Portland in the NBA Restart. With the 2019-20 season cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA Restart saw eight games of regular-season action to determine playoff seedings.
However, Portland had to battle it out against the Memphis Grizzlies in a play-in tournament to determine who gets the eighth spot in the Western Conference.
With the finals of the play-in tournament featuring an instant death match between Portland and Memphis, McCollum helped the Trail Blazers in the final moments of the game.
Memphis led the game going into the fourth quarter. Ja Morant of the Grizzlies seemed unstoppable as he scored 35 points for the game. However, the three clutch buckets by McCollum, who scored 29 combined with 31 points by Lillard for the game, would help send the Blazers to the playoffs.
#2 McCollum leads the Blazers in a 4OT thriller vs Denver
With an intense rivalry developing between Portland and Denver, the beginnings of this were seen in the 2019 NBA Western Conference semifinals. In a historic Game 3 with four overtimes, the Blazers would outlast the Denver Nuggets, led by CJ McCollum's late-game performance.
With the series tied at 1-1 heading to Portland, the Blazers put on a show for the home crowd. McCollum recorded a game-high 41 points shooting 41% from the field and 36.4% from downtown. He also recorded eight rebounds and four assists for the game.
CJ McCollum put the Blazers on his back in the first OT, tying the game and keeping Portland's hopes alive. He would continue to push the team and score in each OT thereon, eventually coming up with a crucial rebound and assist to teammate Rodney Hood on the right wing for a game-winning three-pointer.
#1 CJ McCollum takes Portland to the Western Conference Finals
In Game 7 of the 2019 NBA Western Conference semifinals, the Blazers needed to win against the Denver Nuggets. After his late-game heroics in Game Three, CJ McCollum was primed to take the Blazers to the next stage.
In the fourth quarter of the game, although Portland was leading, the Nuggets had started cutting into the lead. A clutch chasedown block by McCollum helped stop the momentum. This was followed by a much needed bucket to pull away by a little. More late-game heroics would keep the Nuggets away as the Portland Trail Blazers won 100-96.
On a night where Damian Lillard scored only 13 points, CJ McCollum kept the Blazers in the game. Scoring 37 points with 9 rebounds in his performance, McCollum helped the Portland Trail Blazers outlast the Nuggets in Game 7.
The win was even more significant because it was the first time Portland had made a Western Conference Finals appearance since the 1999-00 season. Unfortunately, they were swept by the Golden State Warriors.
