Bulls at Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers are one of the biggest surprises in the early part of the season and look for their ninth consecutive victory when they host the Chicago Bulls on Friday. Portland has started 8-2 or better six previous times and made the playoffs in each of the prior instances. The Bulls lost 97-87 to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday in the opener of a six-game road trip that runs through the rest of November.
Chicago point guard Derrick Rose is trying to reclaim his MVP form and faces Portland standout Damian Lillard for the first time. Lillard was the NBA’s Rookie of the Year last season and is one of main reasons for the Trail Blazers’ sudden rise into one of the better teams in the Western Conference. Because of the lockout-shortened season two years ago and the fact Rose missed all of last season, he will be playing in Portland for the first time since Feb. 7, 2011. Rose scored 36 points in that contest but the Bulls lost 109-103 as Portland forward LaMarcus Aldridge scored a career-high 42 points.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CSN Chicago, CSN Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE BULLS (6-4): Chicago had a five-game winning streak snapped in Denver and struggled to keep pace with the swifter Nuggets. The Bulls also had shooting issues – checking in at 38.8 percent – with forward Luol Deng (3-of-18) being the biggest culprit. Mike Dunleavy moved into the starting lineup due to the injury to Jimmy Butler (right big toe) and matched a season high with 15 points. Dunleavy is 6-of-10 from 3-point range over the past three games.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (10-2): Lillard and Aldridge are gaining momentum as one of the league’s top duos as Portland piles up the victories. Aldridge is averaging 22.5 points and nine rebounds and the two-time All-Star is averaging 25 points over the last four games. Lillard is averaging 19.9 points and 5.8 assists and is already one of the league’s most potent outside shooters with 219 3-pointers in his first 94 NBA games – an output that is higher than any NBA player has ever made over their first 100 games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Trail Blazers have won the past four meetings and nine of the last 11.
2. Portland’s eight-game winning streak is the franchise’s longest one-season streak since winning 13 straight in the 2007-08 campaign.
3. The 97 points allowed to Denver ties for the third-most the Bulls have allowed this season.