Wizards at Trail Blazers
Overtime went a lot better for the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday than it did for the Washington Wizards. Washington will look to have better success - and extend its three-game winning streak in the head-to-head series - as it visits the Trail Blazers on Thursday night. The Wizards are coming off a tough 117-111 loss to the Sacramento Kings, while the Trail Blazers are riding high after outlasting the Milwaukee Bucks 120-115 in extra time thanks to 22 overtime points.
The Trail Blazers prevailed despite being without the services of star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who is nursing a back contusion that has him doubtful for Thursday's game and may keep him out through the weekend. Enter small forward Nicolas Batum, who is averaging 15.1 points and 12.9 rebounds to go along with 4.5 assists in March. Thursday marks the second of a four-game Western Conference trek for the Wizards, who are 18-16 away from Washington.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), CSN Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (35-32): Doom and gloom were forecast for Washington after it lost power forward Nene for the rest of the regular season with a sprained left MCL. But Washington has stayed afloat thanks to increased production from center Marcin Gortat, a strong defensive presence from bench-guy-turned-starter Trevor Booker and some unexpected scoring punch from one-time 10-day contract recipient Drew Gooden. It was Gooden who made the biggest difference in the loss to Sacramento, pouring in 18 points off the bench.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (44-24): Washington replacing Nene has proven to be far more successful than the Trail Blazers' efforts to fill the hole left by the absence of Aldridge. Portland has opted to run 3-point specialist Dorell Wright out against smaller lineups, while Meyers Leonard takes over when the opposing team goes big - and neither player has had much of an impact, which may explain Batum's increased rebounding numbers. Batum entered Wednesday ranked third in the NBA in boards for the month, behind only New York's Tyson Chandler (13.5) and Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins (13.3).
BUZZER BEATERS
1. John Wall led a balanced attack with 22 points as Washington prevailed 100-90 in their previous encounter Feb. 3.
2. Gortat entered Wednesday ranked ninth in rebounding for the month at 11.2.
3. Batum has scored 20 or more points in three straight games, his longest such streak of the season.