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Portland Trail Blazers: Top 10 moments of the 2018-19 NBA season

By Raymond Simms

PORTLAND, OREGON - APRIL 23: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers waves goodbye to the Oklahoma City Thunder after hitting a last second 37 foot game winner to end Game Five of the Western Conference quarterfinals during the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Moda Center on April 23, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. The Blazers won 118-115. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - APRIL 23: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers waves goodbye to the Oklahoma City Thunder after hitting a last second 37 foot game winner to end Game Five of the Western Conference quarterfinals during the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Moda Center on April 23, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. The Blazers won 118-115. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /
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Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /

7. McCollum’s first career triple-double in win vs. Hawks

Since the 2015-16 season that earned him the Most Improved Player award, CJ McCollum has been a consistent source of multi-level scoring for the Portland Trail Blazers. However, it was fair to wonder if he would step up other parts of his game in order to take some of the playmaking load off of Damian Lillard.

While CJ’s 2018-19 numbers ended up being similar to previous seasons, he had his moments throughout the year that showed he is ready to turn the corner. Jan. 26 was one of them. In this midseason matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, McCollum notched his first career triple-double. His 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists helped lead the Blazers to a 120-111 victory with Lillard out due to a right knee injury.

Individually, these numbers aren’t new to McCollum. He is always putting up big scoring numbers. He has also recorded double-digit rebounds and assists before, albeit only a handful of times. However, he has never done them all at once. Nights like this should show CJ, his team and Blazers fans that he has the ability to be a more well-rounded player. We’ll see if he can take that next step in 2019-20.

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