Wizards at Trail Blazers
THE STORY: The Portland Trail Blazers attempt to avoid a third consecutive home loss when they face the road-challenged Washington Wizards on Tuesday. Portland has lost back-to-back home games after starting the campaign 11-1 at home. The Trail Blazers last lost three straight home tilts late in the 2007-08 season. Washington is 2-10 on the road but did begin the current five-game road trip by winning at Detroit on Sunday. The Wizards have the third-worst record in the NBA.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CS Washington (Wizards), CS Portland (Trail Blazers), NBATV
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (6-22): Veteran forward Rashard Lewis is suffering through tough times and averaging only 8.6 points but reached a milestone when he returned Sunday from a three-game absence because of a knee injury. Lewis scored 10 points off the bench against the Pistons to go over the 15,000-career point mark to become the third player in NBA history with 15,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 1,500 3-point baskets. Paul Pierce and Jason Kidd are the others.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (15-13): Point guard Raymond Felton has never found his groove this season and veteran shooting guard Jamal Crawford has been getting increasing minutes at the point. Coach Nate McMillan hinted at a lineup change for Tuesday’s game before deciding to stick with Felton, who has been turnover-prone (2.9 per game) and shooting only 37.3 percent from the field. Felton, who averages 10.5 points and 6.5 assists, was 4-of-17 shooting in Saturday’s double-overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Portland has won six consecutive home games against Washington.
2. Wizards guard John Wall matched his career-high with 15 assists Sunday.
3. The Trail Blazers are 1-9 in games by decided by six or fewer points.