NEW ORLEANS -- The Portland Trail Blazers were in full meltdown, blowing a 20-point lead, and Damian Lillard was flat on his back, courtesy of a fourth-quarter clothesline to the neck from New Orleans Pelicans reserve center Kendrick Perkins.

For a team that had lost six straight road games, this was a moment to respond, and the Blazers did exactly that Friday night in coming from behind in the final minute to defeat the Pelicans 117-112 at the Smoothie King Center.

Lillard scored a game-high 33 points and backcourt mate C.J. McCollum added 30, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with one minute left, to secure the win.

But all the Blazers could talk about after the game was the flagrant 2 foul committed by Perkins, who used his forearm to deck Lillard, which earned Perkins an ejection with the Pelicans trailing 98-90 with 7:35 left.

"It was dirty, for sure, but it's a physical game," said Lillard, who combined with McCollum to score Portland's final nine points. "Some guys impact their team by doing something like that. But I'm from Oakland. I've been punched before. I've been tackled before. It was a cheap play, but it didn't feel as bad as it might have looked. My focus was on winning the game, and that was just two points easier than if I had got to the rim."

Actually, without the lumbering Perkins in the lineup, the Pelicans went to a smaller lineup and speeded up the game. Leading scorer Anthony Davis, who scored 19 first-half points, suffered a left knee injury late in the second quarter, and he did not leave the locker room for the second half.

"Basically it's just a sore left knee," said New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry. "There is no reason for us to take any kind of chances with him right now, so that's why we held him out. He'll get it looked at, and we'll go from there."

The Pelicans made six 3-pointers in the final period -- four by guard Jrue Holiday -- and led 109-108 with 1:13 left on a layup by Dante Cunningham.

On Portland's next possession, Lillard drove to the basket and kicked the ball out on the weak side to McCollum, who nailed a wide-open 3-pointer from the right wing for a 111-109 Blazers lead with a minute left.

New Orleans forward Alonzo Gee was called for offensive goal tending on the Pelicans' next trip, and Lillard drew a shooting foul while dribbling into the lane with 28 seconds left. Lillard made his final four foul shots, and McCollum was 2-for-2.

"It was truly a test," Lillard said. "I think that's the best word to describe it, coming off two tough losses against OKC and San Antonio. This was really gut-check time. I remember walking out of a timeout saying, 'If we lose this game, I am going to be sick.'"

Gentry defended Perkins' flagrant foul, saying his burly center did not intend to hurt Lillard on his drive to the basket.

"It looked a lot worse than it was," Gentry said. "He was trying to take the foul and he was going to grab him and wrap him up. It looked like he went for his neck, which Perk is not that kind of player."

The Pelicans (25-43) chipped away at a 93-81 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter with a 24-10 run that put them ahead 105-103 with 3:15 left. Holiday, who scored 30 points to go with Ryan Anderson's 30, hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Pelicans their first lead since early in the first quarter.

"We were moving the ball and some guys hit some huge shots," Anderson said.

But that's when McCollum and Lillard took over, combining to score 11 of Portland's final 14 points over the last 2:52.

"We made plays when we needed to because this is one we couldn't let get away," said Portland coach Terry Stotts.

Davis apparently sustained the injury to his left knee while setting a screen for Holiday late in the second quarter. Both McCollum and Holiday ran into the side of Davis' knee, but Davis did not show any immediate reaction to the bump.

Davis came into the game with eight straight double-doubles and seven straight games in which he scored at least 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

NOTES: The Pelicans have employed nearly 30 starting lineups this season because of a rash of injuries, but they used the same starting five for the second straight game against Portland. "We are going to stay consistent in what we're doing," New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said, laughing. ... Newly acquired Pelicans PG Tim Frazier, a second-year player out of Penn State, had 14 points and nine assists in his Pelicans' debut, a 123-108 road win against Sacramento on Wednesday. "We weren't able to run a bunch of stuff, but I thought he just had a pretty good feel for the game," Gentry said. ... Portland coach Terry Stotts said the Blazers 1-3 record in the previous four games places more value on every game down the stretch. "From here on out, every game is important," Stotts said. "We won't look ahead. The next game is the most important one."