Trail Blazers at Pelicans
The Portland Trail Blazers look to bounce back from a difficult home loss when they hit the road Monday to face the New Orleans Pelicans. Despite getting to face the Miami Heat on a night when superstar LeBron James was injured, Portland suffered a rare defeat on Saturday night, the latest in a string of tight contests. Since a 34-point win at Philadelphia on Dec. 14, the Trail Blazers have gone 4-2 in a stretch that has seen five games decided by four points or less and two go to overtime.
One of those nip-and-tuck contests came at home against the Pelicans on Dec. 21, when Portland pulled out a 110-107 win that sent New Orleans to its fourth straight loss. The up-and-down Pelicans bounced back to win two in a row before suffering a 107-98 setback at Houston on Saturday. Eight of the past 10 meetings between these two teams have been decided by single digits.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Northwest (Portland), FSN New Orleans (New Orleans)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (24-6): One of Portland's calling cards in its phenomenal start has been its ability to make leads hold up down the stretch. The 108-107 loss to the Heat stands as the Blazers' first defeat in a game they led after three quarters, and it might be a teaching point for a squad looking to remain among the league's elites. "Tonight we made a lot of mistakes," guard Damian Lillard, who was one of five Portland players in double figures with 16 points, told reporters. "It was kind of a lesson that all of those things can come back to bite us."
ABOUT THE PELICANS (13-15): New Orleans' loss to Houston showcased a discrepancy in the backcourt, as regular starting guard Eric Gordon missed his second straight game with a right hip contusion and starters Jrue Holiday and Brian Roberts struggled, combining for eight points on 3-of-12 shooting. However, reserve Tyreke Evans was emboldened again by Gordon's absence and the others' woes, putting up 21 shots in 32 minutes and finishing with 16 points and nine assists. Evans is averaging 18.4 points and 9.4 assists in five games since coming back from a sprained ankle.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Lillard led all scorers with 29 points in the meeting on Dec. 21.
2. Portland leads the NBA in 3-point shooting (40.4 percent) and New Orleans ranks fifth (39.1), but the Blazers average nearly eight more attempts from beyond the arc.
3. Pelicans SF Al-Farouq Aminu has scored in double digits in a career high-tying three straight games.