Hawks at Trail Blazers
Two of the league’s best 3-point shooters this season will take the floor Saturday night when the Portland Trail Blazers host the Atlanta Hawks. Portland shooting guard Wesley Matthews has made a league-leading 101 baskets from beyond the arc, nine ahead of Atlanta sharpshooter Kyle Korver, who leads the league at 51.7 percent from long range. Matthews is shooting 26-for-52 from deep over the past five games, while Korver is 13-for-31 in that span.
Damian Lillard gives the Trail Blazers another good option from long range, coming in third in the league with 91 3-pointers, though his percentage has dipped to 39.1 after converting 46 percent the first 15 games. He’ll have a good matchup against Atlanta point guard Jeff Teague, who’s coming off a 26-point, eight-assist performance in Friday’s win in Utah. Paul Millsap will be another tough cover for the Trail Blazers and will surely keep Portland leading scorer and rebounder LaMarcus Aldridge occupied on the defensive end the floor.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Atlanta), CSN Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE HAWKS (24-8): Dennis Schroder is quickly becoming the forgotten man in Atlanta as he put up no points for the second time in the past three games Friday night in Utah. He struggled in three straight games and saw his minutes decrease each game, but bounced back with 15 points Tuesday against the Cavaliers before disappearing again Friday. Even with his 5-for-7 shooting performance against Cleveland, the backup point guard is shooting 8-for-29 in the past five games with 13 turnovers and 12 assists.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (26-7): The Trail Blazers have been off since Tuesday’s overtime win against the visiting Toronto Raptors, which has been especially beneficial for Aldridge, who missed three of four games leading up to the Raptors' visit with an upper respiratory illness. Aldridge looked like his usual self against Toronto, posting 23 points and 13 rebounds. He struggled mightily when the Hawks came to town in March, shooting 1-for-13 in the 22-point victory, his lowest field-goal percentage in a game when taking more than four shots, but showed that was a fluke by putting up 25 points and 16 rebounds in a 15-point win in Atlanta three weeks later.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Lillard is one of three NBA players with multiple 40-point games this season.
2. Aldridge and New Orleans Pelicans F Anthony Davis are the only NBA players ranked in the top 10 in scoring and rebounding.
3. Portland coach Terry Stotts was 52-85 as head coach of the Hawks from 2002-04.