Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara put on the greatest shooting exhibition in his career Monday night and described it as an out-of-body experience.
“I was feeling like Damian Lillard,” Camara said of the injured Portland star known for his long-range shooting.
Only it really was Camara establishing career highs of 35 points and nine 3-pointers against the Brooklyn Nets, so he has quite an act to follow when the Trail Blazers host the struggling Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.
Camara knocked down his first eight 3-point attempts and missed just two on the night as Portland crushed the Nets 134-99 in the opener of a four-game homestand.
“I caught a rhythm pretty early,” Camara said of his stunning shooting spree. “My first one was a bank shot, but just the confidence, really, trusting my work. There’s ups and downs in this league, and you just gotta keep being who you are, and trust in the process. I feel like that’s the biggest thing for me right now.”
Camara, a third-year pro, had never scored 30 in an NBA game until hitting the mark against the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 9. He was 8 of 10 from 3-point range that night.
He didn’t have more than 18 points in any of the ensuing 18 contests — scoring in single digits seven times — until his explosive performance on Monday.
“We put so much work into this that once the rims open up like that for you, you just got to take as much as you can and be yourself and trust your work,” Camara said.
The victory was the fifth in seven games for the Trail Blazers, who entered Tuesday a half-game behind the Los Angeles Clippers for eighth place in the Western Conference.
The Bucks are fading badly with 11 losses in 14 games, which leaves them eight games behind the Charlotte Hornets with 11 contests left in the one-sided battle for the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference.
For Milwaukee, this wraps a four-game road trip that includes losses of 128-96 to the lowly Utah Jazz and 129-96 to the Clippers. The Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns 108-105 on Saturday between the two blowout losses.
Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is slated to miss his fifth straight game due to a hyperextended left knee. He was informed by the team last week that it wants him to sit out the rest of the season.
The National Basketball Players Association publicly joined the dispute Monday by criticizing the Bucks and implying the organization is tanking. The NBPA said Antetokounmpo is healthy and ready to play.
“The Player Participation Policy was designed by the league to hold teams accountable and ensure that when an All-Star like Giannis Antetokounmpo is healthy and ready to play, he is on the court,” the union said in a statement.
The Bucks hadn’t responded as of early Monday night in the Midwest.
Not addressed by the NBPA: Milwaukee’s surprising decision to waive shooting guard Cam Thomas prior to Monday’s game against the Clippers. He averaged 10.7 points in 18 games for the Bucks.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers declined to divulge why Thomas was the odd man out.
“There are things that we don’t need to talk about,” Rivers said. “That’s not anybody’s business. Like I said before, that’s where as a coach, you have to make decisions on what’s the best thing for the team at that time.”
The Trail Blazers have won the past four meetings, including a 115-103 win on Nov. 24 in Milwaukee. Jerami Grant scored 35 points for Portland and Bobby Portis had 22 for the Bucks. Antetokounmpo was sidelined with a groin injury.
–Field Level Media
