SPORT / BASKETBALL
McCollum, Hardaway shine
Hawks stun Spurs, Blazers rally to beat Timberwolves
Published: Jan 02, 2017 10:53 PM
Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum (right) and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Chris Dunn dive for the ball in Minneapolis on Sunday. Photo: IC

Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum (right) and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Chris Dunn dive for the ball in Minneapolis on Sunday. Photo: IC

Tim Hardaway and C.J. McCollum both enjoyed career nights on Sunday as the ­Atlanta Hawks surprised the first-place San Antonio Spurs while McCollum carried the Portland Trail Blazers to a come-from-behind victory.

McCollum scored a career-high 43 points as the Trail Blazers rallied past Minnesota 95-89 and Hardaway tallied 29 points, matching his all-time best total, to push the Hawks over the Spurs 114-112 in overtime.

McCollum, who reached his previous best of 37 points twice, shot 16 of 25 from the field to set a career high for field goals.

Averaging 27.1 points in his last eight ­contests, this was McCollum's fourth consecutive game scoring over 20 points in place of Damian Lillard, who injured his ankle on ­December 23. McCollum has scored 30 points in seven games this season.

Minnesota guard Kris Dunn came off the bench to play 21 minutes and spent a good ­portion of it trying to stop McCollum.

Canadian Andrew Wiggins led Minnesota with 24 points while the young Timberwolves trio of Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns and Zach LaVine combined for 48 points after getting 73 together on Friday against Milwaukee.

Portland quickly rallied from a 12-point half-time deficit with a 14-2 run to tie the game at 51-51 on a McCollum's jumper. McCollum scored 16 points in the third quarter and the Trail ­Blazers took a 69-64 lead into the fourth.

Portland never trailed in the final quarter and led by as many as eight points in the closing 12 minutes.

In Atlanta, Hardaway scored the go-ahead free throw in overtime as the Hawks snapped an 11-game losing streak to San Antonio.

San Antonio had a chance to level the game at the buzzer but Kawhi Leonard's layup rolled around the rim and spun out.

Hardaway scored 21 points in the second half and scored the first eight points in overtime. He made the first of two free throws with 10 seconds left in overtime to put Atlanta ahead for good.

Atlanta's Paul Millsap scored a season-high 32 points, including 14 in a row in the third and fourth quarters, to keep the Hawks within reach. Millsap added 13 rebounds and three assists.

Elsewhere, Myles Turner recorded his fifth double-­double of the season with 23 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 117-104 victory over the Orlando Magic.

In Los ­Angeles, Kyle Lowry and ­DeMar DeRozan combined for 72 points as the ­Toronto Raptors became the latest team to take advantage of the hapless Lakers, handing them a 123-114 defeat.