Trail Blazers at Hornets
The Portland Trail Blazers seek to stretch their winning streak to nine games when they visit the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday. Portland slipped past winless Philadelphia on Tuesday after a sluggish first half. “The biggest lesson is how hard you have to play to win,” Portland coach Terry Stotts told reporters. “Every night is a challenge. To be able to come back against a team playing with desperation means a lot.”
Charlotte is sliding in the opposite direction and has lost six straight games. The Hornets opened a three-game homestand by being routed 113-92 by the Los Angeles Clippers and coach Steve Clifford is hoping the players can bounce back strong. “We can’t lose our spirit,” Clifford told reporters. “To be a good team in this league it takes a lot of things but your best players have to be prideful and hard players. Al (Jefferson) and Kemba (Walker) showed again they’re going to fight for this and they’re going to try hard to get this turned around.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Northwest (Portland), SportSouth (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (11-3): All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge broke out of a shooting slump by scoring a season-best 33 points on 13-of-20 shooting against Philadelphia. Aldridge had been 13-of-34 over the previous two games before taking advantage of the 76ers and also grabbing 11 rebounds while recording his fifth double-double of the season. Point guard Damian Lillard is averaging just 14 points over the last two games following a stretch of five consecutive 20-point outings.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (4-11): Jefferson had a streak of three 20-point outings snapped with a 16-point effort against the Clippers but he continues to carry the offensive attack. Walker is averaging 15.3 points, eight rebounds and six assists over the past three games but his season-long struggles from behind the 3-point line continue (28.6). Guard Lance Stephenson has had issues fitting it since joining the club as a free agent and had three points on 1-of-8 shooting against Los Angeles.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Portland has won nine of the past 11 meetings and overcame a 23-point home deficit to post a 102-100 victory over Charlotte on Nov. 11.
2. The Hornets have lost by more than 20 points three times during their six-game skid.
3. Lillard made five 3-pointers and scored 29 points when the Trail Blazers defeated Charlotte earlier this month.