Trail Blazers at Magic
The Portland Trail Blazers' trip to the East Coast is off to a rough start, but they hope a visit to the struggling Orlando Magic will change that Tuesday. The Trail Blazers have dropped the first two contests on their five-game road trip after a fourth-quarter rally fell short in a 93-91 loss at Miami on Monday. The Magic need a win to avoid matching their season-high 10-game losing streak.
The Trail Blazers wiped out a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter against the Heat before LeBron James hit the go-ahead bucket and Chris Bosh swatted away Damian Lillard's attempt to tie it at the buzzer. "We're tired of losing close games, but you can't help it to be proud of the way we competed," Portland coach Terry Stotts told reporters. "It would have been easy to fold things up, but that's not in our DNA." The Trail Blazers beat the Magic 110-94 on Jan. 8 in Portland, but the series has been competitive lately with eight of the past 11 meetings decided by fewer than 10 points.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Northwest (Portland), FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (45-26): Portland is still fifth in the Western Conference, but things are beginning to tighten up with just three games separating the Trail Blazers from the No. 9 spot. The Blazers have been quiet about when All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (23.4 points, 11.1 rebounds) will be able to return from a bruised lower back that has kept him out for the past six games. Portland needs Aldridge's presence inside on nights like Monday, when the Blazers struggled to 11-of-39 from 3-point range.
ABOUT THE MAGIC (19-52): Orlando wrapped up an 0-4 West Coast road trip with a 103-94 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday and owns the third-worst record in the league. "We're not building for next year yet," coach Jacque Vaughn told reporters. "We've still got some games to go, but what I do see is our guys getting better." Rookie Victor Oladipo — one of those young players showing growth — has started three straight games at point guard while Jameer Nelson (knee) has been sidelined.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Orlando is trying to avoid posting two double-digit losing streaks in the same season for the second straight year and the third time in franchise history.
2. The Magic are 0-33 when they lose the rebounding battle.
3. Lillard had tied a career-high with eight straight games of 20 points or more before being held to 19 on 3-of-15 shooting against Miami.