CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Terry Rozier had 34 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, and the Charlotte Hornets rode a strong first quarter to a 109-101 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night, snapping a four-game losing streak.
P.J. Washington had 23 points and eight rebounds after missing three games with an ankle injury, and Miles Bridges added 19 points, including two highlight-reel dunks for the Hornets (28-28).
Rozier, Washington and Bridges were a combined 15 of 31 from 3-point range as Charlotte snapped a seven-game losing streak against Portland.
Carmelo Anthony had six 3-pointers and 24 points for the Trail Blazers (32-24), who played without star Damian Lillard for the second straight game due to a hamstring injury. CJ McCollum scored 22 points.
The Hornets charged to an early lead, building a 43-18 lead in the first quarter behind 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting from Rozier. Charlotte shot 77.3% in the opening quarter with Rozier and Bridges combining to go 6 of 6 from 3-point range.
Rozier, who was 7 of 13 from 3-point range in the game, helped Charlotte push its lead to 27 points in the third quarter.
But the Blazers battled back and cut the lead to nine with 3 1/2 minutes remaining behind four forth-quarter 3-pointers from Anthony. But after back-to-back Anthony misses, the Hornets got an open dunk from P.J. Washington to push the lead to 12 that all but sealed the win.
Bridges had two incredible dunks, one coming on a drive down the lane by Anthony near the end of the first half, and another on a one-handed put-back, extending his arm to grab the rebound and reaching back to stuff it home.
