Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum will return from a 25-game absence on Tuesday night versus the New Orleans Pelicans, the team has announced.
@CJMcCollum. Is. Back. pic.twitter.com/RGOyMFLYO8
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) March 15, 2021
McCollum, 29, played 13 games this season before fracturing his foot against the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 16, and had a career-best start averaging 26.7 points and 5.0 assists on .473/.441/.844 shooting in his eighth season with the Blazers.
Portland was off to a 9-8 start before McCollum's injury and has since gone 14-11, with Damian Lillard carrying the offensive load as center Jusuf Nukic remains out with a fractured wrist until the end of March.
Former Duke Blue Devil Gary Trent Jr. has stepped up amid the injuries, nearly doubling his career-high averaging 15.4 points per game, as has 10-time all-star Carmelo Anthony, who's averaging 14.2 points per game in his 18th season.