The Portland Trail Blazers overcame a 20-point deficit to edge over the Chicago Bulls 112-107 at Moda Center on Wednesday.

Watching the game's first half, one could think it was another toast night for Rip City because the Bulls dominated the Trail Blazers in almost everything. The visiting team led in scores (63-48), field goal (FG) rate (56.6-38 percent), triples made (8-3) and 3-point rate (44.4-25 percent).

The Bulls built their advantage for the right tactics. They started with one big man (Tony Bradley) surrounded by four guards (Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso). Defensively they were fast to chase Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum without having to worry about being punished in mismatch because Jusuf Nurkic has never been known for being able to do that.

Offensively, the Bulls had two strong threats of LaVine and DeRozan but the Trail Blazers only had one Robert Covington who could rarely match either.

That's why LaVine went 7-9 in FGs and 4-6 from downtown to get 18 points in the first half while DeRozan had 15 points shooting 5-6 in the middle range. By contrast, although Lillard delivered six assists, he only got six points after missing five out of six FG attempts. McCollum did worse, scoring nothing at all in the first half.

What the Bulls did not expect was that they failed to make even one shot in the middle range. All seven of DeRozan's jumpers missed. LaVine was only 3-10 in FGs in the last quarter. Both of them had a very strange Q3 during which they took only three shots combined. That's probably why they had cold hands when the team needed them to fire more in Q4.

The other reason for their underperformance was Larry Nance Jr. His 2-3 shooting performance behind the arc being happy surprises, Nance's agility and participation in the Blazers' trapping of LaVine and DeRozan plus his energy on the offensive glass became the turning point of the game. He had three steals in Wednesday's game, two of which happened in the third quarter.

"It was incredible," Nance said. "You know, it's only Game 16 here for me. So I appreciate it more than they know. I genuinely do. This team is capable of some amazing things when we put our minds to it. I thought the effort was great from everybody from top to bottom."

Nurkic also made the Bulls pay from inside. Scoring 18 points was remarkable for him, but the six offensive rebounds he grabbed bought the Blazers enough second-chance points and time to wait for Lillard to drain two valuable 3-pointers in Q4 to kill the game.

"I think that we're just starting to as a group just get to know each other and how to play with certain guys," Blazers head coach Chauncy Billups said. "That's starting to happen. We still have a way to go with that."

Greek Freak tears Lakers apart at home

The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 109-102 at Fiserv Forum on Wednesday, claiming a valuable victory for a tough journey recently.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was unstoppable on the floor to drop 47 points and nine rebounds for the Bucks. If the three shots he made outside the 3-point line were necessary costs, the Greek Freak humiliated the Lakers' defense by going 13-15 in the paint.

"He made it look easy tonight," Khris Middleton said after the game. "Got to his spots, was patient. Didn't necessarily try to force his way through too many guys. If he saw an extra body, he tried to find the open man. It was just great as far as picking his spots and getting to his spots and being comfortable and being just him. His best version of himself."

Antetokounmpo scored more than twice points what Anthony Davis (18), Dwight Howard (3) and DeAndre Jordan got in total. The purple and gold tried to limit him with zone defense in the second half, but they immediately punished by the 3-point shooting of Pat Connaughton and Middleton.

Jrue Holiday, as the third member of Milwaukee's three-headed monster, was struggling with his shooting but he had eight assists and four turnovers.

"I think this is a good opportunity now that Khris is back for us to start getting back on track," Antetokounmpo said. "Start building some games right here. And we'll see. I can't predict the future, but we're in a good place right now."

Though it's just one game, but the Bucks are having their best players come back one by one. Once Brook Lopez and Donte DiVincenzo return, they will have their champion squad again on the court.

By contrast, when LeBron James comes back for the Lakers, he may have mixed feelings because Talen Horton-Tucker seems to be in great form and Russell Westbrook is finding his role in the franchise. Tucker scored team high 25 points and 12 rebounds while Westbrook had a double-double of 19 points and 15 assists for the purple and gold on Wednesday.

However, it's hard to say the Lakers are on the right track when Davis played like he did in the loss to the Bucks. Shooting 9-15 in FGs was actually good, but earning no free throw at all sent a very bad sign.

Other games on Wednesday (away teams come first):

Washington Wizards 87-97 Charlotte Hornets

Indiana Pacers 89-97 Detroit Pistons

Cleveland Cavaliers 99-109 Brooklyn Nets

New Orleans Pelicans 99-113 Miami Heat

Orlando Magic 104-98 New York Knicks

Sacramento Kings 97-107 Minnesota Timberwolves

Houston Rockets 89-101 Oklahoma City Thunder

Dallas Mavericks 98-105 Phoenix Suns