Heat at Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers get a chance to display they are indeed one of the NBA’s top clubs when they host the Miami Heat in a Saturday night showdown. Portland is tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the league’s top record at 24-5 record after winning just 33 games all last season. Miami had a six-game winning streak halted by the Sacramento Kings on Friday and forward LeBron James suffered a groin injury during the contest.
James had 33 points, eight rebounds and eight assists against the Kings and was noncommittal when asked about his status for the Portland game. “It ain’t feeling too good right now,” James said. The two-time defending champion Heat had a four-point lead late in regulation before getting outplayed by the lowly Kings and falling 108-103 in overtime. The rise of the Trail Blazers is mostly because of the star tandem of forward LaMarcus Aldridge and guard Damian Lillard but the supporting cast is solid and Portland has scored 100 or more points in 16 consecutive games.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Sun Sports (Miami), KGW (Portland)
ABOUT THE HEAT (22-7): Guards Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen were held out of the Sacramento contest to rest their ailing knees and forward Chris Andersen (back) also missed the game. Allen’s status for Portland is questionable, while Wade was rested due to it being the first night of a back-to-back and the Heat preferring to have him against the Trail Blazers as opposed to the Kings. “We met about it and decided that it was best for the three of them to continue to get rest,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said before the Sacramento game. “We feel fortunate for the depth we have. We feel like that is one of the biggest strengths of our team.”
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (24-5): Aldridge has already had a season’s worth of stellar efforts, so the 32-point, 10-rebound performance against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday doesn’t stand out as anything special. But it picks up in significance when you factor in he had his wisdom teeth removed on Sunday and hadn’t had any solid food. “I’ve had nothing but soup for the last four days,” Aldridge revealed afterward. “So I was a little worried about my energy levels.” The Portland standout was strong throughout while playing 40 minutes and had all three of his team’s field goals in the overtime.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Miami had won 19 consecutive regular-season games against Western Conference squads prior to Friday’s loss.
2. The Heat are 18-3 when Wade plays – and 4-4 when he sits out.
3. Portland C Robin Lopez had 11 points and 15 rebounds against Los Angeles for his 12th double-double of the campaign.