Wednesday was quite the night for Portland Trail Blazers’ guard C.J. McCollum. McCollum was absolutely on fire in the Blazers’ 124-108 win over the Chicago Bulls, notching 50 points while connecting on 18 of 25 shots from the field (including six for nine from deep), making all eight of his free-throw attempts, and adding five rebounds and two assists. And the most remarkable part may be that he did it in just 29 minutes over three quarters (he didn’t play in the fourth), and that 28 of his points came in the first quarter, not only setting a team record but marking the highest total any NBA player had recorded in one quarter this season (and outscoring the Bulls by nine). His night sparked a lot of Twitter discussion:
CJ McCollum was 💰 in the 1st quarter pic.twitter.com/CaXqkH3ixD
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 1, 2018
End of the 1st quarter:
Chicago Bulls: 19
CJ McCollum: 28 pic.twitter.com/xNy9EKccTy— SB Nation (@SBNation) February 1, 2018
https://twitter.com/danecarbaugh/status/958909339149910016
CJ McCollum dropped 28 points in the 1st quarter, the most in any quarter in Trail Blazers history 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DoYhjkK3hY
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 1, 2018
CJ's 50th. BTW, this is a McCollum fan account now. pic.twitter.com/XlEZIESkTM
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) February 1, 2018
Blazers' CJ McCollum is 7th player in franchise history to score 50+ points, joining Damian Lillard (3), Geoff Petrie (2), Clyde Drexler, Andre Miller, Brandon Roy & Damon Stoudamire. pic.twitter.com/UHidOr2cmc
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) February 1, 2018
Who needs four quarters?
CJ McCollum became just the 7th player in @trailblazers history to score 50+ points in a 124-108 win over the Bulls and he did it in just three quarters (29 min)! #RipCity pic.twitter.com/kHhroIJX4h
— NBA TV (@NBATV) February 1, 2018
McCollum with 50 points in 29 minutes.
The only other player in NBA history to score 50 or more points in under 30 minutes is Klay Thompson (December 5, 2016 vs Pacers).
via @EliasSports pic.twitter.com/6QeaQTT1IM
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 1, 2018
That’s pretty remarkable, and it all adds up to a great night for McCollum. He even won the post-game interview:
Raw Video: CJ McCollum humble about his 1st quarter scoring record but ends with… "We gonna have a lot of pinot tonight." #RipCity pic.twitter.com/CCl6X7GeRm
— NBC Sports Northwest (@NBCSNorthwest) February 1, 2018
Of course, it should be noted that the Bulls aren’t exactly the world’s fiercest opponent right now; they fell to 18-33 with the loss, and they were allowing 109.0 points per game heading into this one, 25th in the NBA. But still, it only took McCollum three quarters to do this (and he only scored four of those points in the second quarter, which he sat out for much of). This total could have gotten even bigger if he’d played in the fourth. But the game was already well in hand by that point, and this performance was amazing enough in its own right. It’s further proof of McCollum’s evolution into an excellent player, and it suggests even better things may be ahead for him. Oh, hey, and as Alex Wong noted, great shooting performances run in the family; look what McCollum’s older brother Errick did in China in the 2014-15 season.
ERRICK MCCOLLUM SCORED 82 POINTS IN CHINA THOUGH https://t.co/nflYJVfJED
— alex (@steven_lebron) February 1, 2018
Regardless of what else McCollum does from here, though, he’ll always have this, one of the most efficient 50-point performances in NBA history. Now that’s something to savor with a little pinot. Or a lot.
[SI.com]
