McCollum announces the death his Aunt hours after asking fans for their thoughts & prayers.
Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard CJ McCollum led the team to a road win against the San Antonio Spurs over the weekend, as he poured in a game-high 32 points to go along with seven assists and six rebounds.
During his post-game interview following Portland’s 121-116 victory, McCollum asked fans to pray for his Aunt Renaa. Just hours later, the 28-year old guard took to twitter to inform his fans that his aunt had passed away.
McCollum and the Blazers are now 5-8 for the season with five games remaining on their current six-game road trip. Up next is a matchup against the Houston Rockets on Monday night, but newly acquired forward Carmelo Anthony will not be making his Blazers’ debut against his former team.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Melo isn’t expected to play until Tuesday night’s game against New Orleans, at the earliest.
“He looks like he’s changed his body a little bit,” McCollum said Melo, per ESPN. “Started lifting more on his legs, his lower half. He was dunking this summer. He doesn’t usually dunk, so that’s how I knew he was feeling good. I don’t know if it was because the work or because he’s been f or a combination, but he looked like he had new life, more bounce in his step.”