ATLANTA -- The Portland Trail Blazers snapped a five-game losing streak to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night as they continued their quest to overtake the Denver Nuggets for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Portland led by 23 points just 10 minutes into the game and rolled to a 113-97 victory behind 27 points from Damian Lillard and 22 from fellow guard CJ McCollum.

"Well, the understatement is that the first quarter was really an outstanding quarter for us at both ends," Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "Defensively, we were really locked in. ... It got us off to a great start. After that, the game was kind of methodical, but the first quarter was pretty impressive."

Portland (31-37) is 7-2 in March and the victory moved the Trail Blazers within two games of eighth-place Denver in the West. The Nuggets hosted the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.

The Trail Blazers, who made 13 of their first 15 from the floor, shot 76.2 percent in the first quarter to 16 percent for the Hawks (37-32) while going up 40-18 and led 63-46 at halftime.

"It was the first quarter that we couldn't recover from," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "I thought we were poor defensively. I thought we were poor offensively."

Lillard scored 13 of his 14 first-half points in the first quarter, making 5 of 6 shots from the field and converting one of his two 3-pointers into a four-point play.

"He's trying to set the tone for the team as far as how imperative these games are and not to take things likely," Stotts said. "He's showing great leadership."

Lillard had been held below 20 points in five of his previous eight games against Atlanta and his 16.9-point career average against the Hawks coming in was tied for the lowest scoring average against an opponent.

Reserve Allen Crabbe hit four 3-pointers and scored 16 points. Center Jusuf Nurkic had a strong all-round game with 12 points, nine rebounds, six blocks and five assists.

Ersan Ilyasova, starting for the Hawks (37-32) in place of Paul Millsap, had 23 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 22.

Millsap, a four-time All-Star who leads Atlanta in scoring, experienced left knee tightness warming up and was a late scratch.

"It was huge," Stotts said of Millsap's absence. "He's their guy. ... Not having him was pretty evident."

Dennis Schroder had a game-high seven assists for the Hawks but was held to eight points of 2-of-14 shooting from the field.

"We've got to do a better job at the start of the game," Schroder said. "The last couple of games we've been sloppy at the start of the game and that put us in a hole."

The Hawks closed to 85-73 going into the fourth quarter, but the Trail Blazers led by 21 points midway in the quarter and coasted the rest of the way.

Dwight Howard, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks, drew his 13th technical foul of the season in the third quarter for a "hostile act" and was still frustrated by the call after the game.

"I'm at one end and somebody hacks me and they say it is a regular foul and I come on the other end and barely hit somebody and it's reviewed ... as if I was trying to hurt a player out there on the floor," Howard said. "It is frustrating ... and it's got to stop at some point."

Evan Turner returned for the Trail Blazers after breaking his right hand five weeks ago but missed his first six shots and scored just two points off the bench in 18 minutes while playing the a wrap on the hand.

The Trail Blazers had a 54-35 edge on the boards, with Noah Vonleh getting a game-best 11 rebounds.

"It seems like we've either had close games or gotten blown out and beaten badly," Stotts said. "It was nice to have the opposite."

NOTES: Hawks G/F Kent Bazemore suffered a right knee contusion in the fourth quarter. ... Trail Blazers G/F Evan Turner returned after breaking his right hand in a game at Dallas on Feb. 7. ... Portland was 7-7 without Turner, who was averaging 9.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists when injured. ... F Paul Millsap, the Hawks' leading scorer at 18.1 points per game, was a late scratch because of left knee tightness. Millsap, also second on the team in rebounding (7.7) and assists (3.8), was replaced in the starting lineup by F Ersan Ilyasova. ... C Dwight Howard is the first Hawks player since Dikembe Mutombo in 1999-2000 to reach 800 rebounds in a season. ... Hawks G/F Mike Dunleavy (ankle) hasn't played since Feb. 24 and there remains no timetable for his return. ... The Hawks forced overtime on a shot by Millsap at the buzzer when the teams played in Portland on Feb. 13 and scored the final 12 points of the extra period for a 109-104 victory. ... The Trail Blazers conclude their five-game road trip at Miami on Sunday. Atlanta plays its next three games on the road, beginning Monday at Charlotte.