PORTLAND, Ore. – Enes Kanter had 24 points and a franchise recorded 30 rebounds, and the Portland Trail Blazers led the Detroit Pistons 118-103 on Saturday night.
Kanter surpassed Sidney Wicks’ record of 27 recoveries in Portland set in 1975. Each time Kanter added to the record on Saturday, the Blazers bench stood and cheered.
Kanter is the fourth player with 30 rebounds in a game in the last 20 seasons, joining Dwight Howard in 2018, Andrew Bynum in 2012 and Kevin Love in 2011. He has also surpassed his own 26-game career. sets while playing for the Knicks in 2018.
Goalkeeper Damian Lillard had 27 points and 10 assists, and CJ McCollum added 26 points for the Blazers, who suffered a series of losses in two games.
Kanter started in place of center Jusuf Nurkic, who was not available for the Blazers because it was the first back-to-back game. Nurkic had knee swelling that kept him out of the game earlier this week against the Clippers. Blazers coach Terry Stotts said before the game that Nurkic will be available for Sunday night’s home game against Miami.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.