A late surge from New York Knicks wasn't enough as the shorthanded Portland Trail Blazers secured a 116-113 win at the Moda Center. The Blazers led by as many as 25 points and their early domination eventually paid off. It was Damian Lillard who stole all the headlines with a 39-point effort, one that saw him go 16th in the list of all-time three-pointers made.With that last three, @Dame_Lillard has passed Chauncey Billups for 16th in NBA history in made three-pointers with 1,831 (and counting). Next up, JJ Redick with 1,908 (though obviously that number will change)— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) January 25, 2021It was a heartbreaking affair for rookie Immanuel Quickley whose 31 points kept the New York Knicks in the game. Julius Randle also managed 25 points but he was largely inefficient against the Portland Trail Blazers' dogged interior defense.Portland Trail Blazers catch fire earlyThe Portland Trail Blazers raced off to the paces in the first quarter itself. Lillard recorded 15 first-quarter points alone to give his side a 37-24 lead. The New York Knicks struggled from the field and committed costly turnovers. Their perimeter defense was also lacking and the Blazers torched them with three-point shooting..@Dame_Lillard has broken his own franchise record for most points by a Trail Blazer in the first 15 games of a season. Lillard has scored 423 and counting... #RipCity— Jay Allen (@PDXjay) January 25, 2021Every player on the Blazers roster in the first half pic.twitter.com/i0fMz9HOvy— Fredo🗽 (@goknickstape) January 25, 2021Tom Thibodeau's men showed more grit going forward in the second but still couldn't slow down Portland Trail Blazers' offense. Anfernee Simons got extended minutes in the absence of CJ McCollum and made the most of it by dropping quick treys. He finished with 18 points on the night.Anfernee Simons on Friday: "I know this is going to be a good opportunity for me" Sunday -- 13 first half points in 12 mins of work— Jamie Hudson (@JamieHudsonNBCS) January 25, 2021Kanter outplaying Mitch is the absolute last thing I needed to see tonight— Bootum (@DaRealBootum) January 25, 2021The Knicks, who held the Celtics to 75 total points last Sunday, give up 70 points in just the first half to the Blazers...Knicks, unselfishly, doing their fans a solid and letting them turn the game off to get some sleep on a Sunday night.— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) January 25, 2021Julius Randle tried forcing the issue for the New York Knicks but Enes Kanter played some solid defense to keep him quiet. Portland led 70-50 at the half and the game seemed all but over.New York Knicks fight back with an improved defensive effortNew York Knicks v Portland Trail BlazersThe New York Knicks had the third-best defensive rating in the league going into this game and they finally showcased some solidity on that end in the third quarter. They started double-teaming Damian Lillard and it worked wonders as the other Portland Trail Blazers shooters struggled too.Blazers need to learn how to handle Dame getting doubled. This happens all the time— 🅵🅾🆁🆃🅷🅴🅵🅰🅽🆂 🎙 (@503Blazerfans) January 25, 2021Quickley and Randle stepped up at this point to get the offense flowing as the New York Knicks cut down to lead to 12 points heading into the fourth quarter. The likes of Elfrid Payton and Austin Rivers still left a lot to be desired.Elfrid Payton has blackmail on the entire Knicks organization that’s the only reason to explain him playing this much— Fredo🗽 (@goknickstape) January 25, 2021Immanuel Quickley - Instant offense Elfrid Payton- Instant headaches— Knicks Nation (@KnicksNation) January 25, 2021I've officially gone from "How did the Knicks lock up Austin Rivers for so cheap?" to "I now understand how the Knicks locked up Austin Rivers for so cheap"— Jeremy Cohen (@TheCohencidence) January 25, 2021The Knicks continued their tough play on both ends of the court to cut down the lead to just five with nearly six minutes left to play. That's when Lillard came in clutch and dropped a few baskets to create separation for the Portland Trail Blazers.Noel misses from 0.1” and then Lillard hits from 30 feetIt’s a Hard Knicks Life.— It’s a Hard Knicks Life (@HardKnicksLife) January 25, 2021It soon became a fouling game and Lillard sealed the deal at the charity stripe. Interestingly, he hit his 66th consecutive free throw for the Portland Trail Blazers in the process, thereby setting a personal and franchise record. He got deserved plaudits for his efforts.Damian Lillard just broke the Portland Trail Blazers record for consecutive free throws made in a row (64), set by Damian Lillard in 2018.— Damian Wobbard (@WorldWideWob) January 25, 2021All Damian Lillard does is give us greatness on every level. Respect that man! One of the best ambassadors of American Sports. Thank you Dame!— Gary M Clark (@gmcexp) January 25, 2021Damian Lillard is averaging 39 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds per game as a father of three— Joe Simons (@joesimonssays) January 25, 2021Immanuel Quickley also received praise for his career-night.The Knicks haven’t drafted a point guard who ended up making an All-Star team since Mark Jackson (1987), who made only one. Immanuel Quickley will end that drought some day.— Ian O'Connor (@Ian_OConnor) January 25, 2021It's early, but the Knicks seem to have absolutely nailed the Quickley pick.— ShwinnyPooh (@shwinnypooh) January 25, 2021THE CHURCH OF IMMANUEL QUICKLEY WELCOMES ALL— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 25, 2021Also read: LA Lakers vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction & Match Preview - January 25th, 2021 | NBA Season 2020-21