Trail Blazers at Bucks
The Portland Trail Blazers hope to avoid their second three-game losing skid in the month of January when they stay on the road to face the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. The Trail Blazers have dropped five straight on the road — including four games by six points or less — and look to turn things around by beating the Bucks for the fourth consecutive time. Portland is 18-5 against Eastern Conference opponents, but has lost three of its last four against teams from the Eastern time zone.
Milwaukee looks to string together three consecutive victories for the first time since late November. The Bucks concluded their three-game road swing with back-to-back wins over the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic and turn their attention to solving their recent home woes after dropping six of their last nine games at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee hasn't beaten Portland since a 102-95 win on March 19, 2013, and has lost 14 of its last 18 games against teams currently above .500.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, CSN Northwest (Portland), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (32-15): LaMarcus Aldridge was named to the Western Conference All-Star team for the fourth time in his career and is just one of three players averaging 23 points and 10 rebounds per game this season. Aldridge led the way with 37 points and 11 rebounds while Wesley Matthews added 16 points in the 105-99 loss to the red-hot Atlanta Hawks on Friday. Damian Lillard was limited to 13 points on 6-of-20 shooting and committed six turnovers, but did manage to dish out a game-high 11 assists.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (24-22): Jerryd Bayless scored a team-high 19 points off the bench while Jared Dudley and Khris Middleton each added 17 as Milwaukee won in Orlando for the first time since Dec. 29, 2004. "When you get good looks, good things happen," Bayless told reporters. "The ball is moving and everybody is sharing it." Zaza Pachulia missed Thursday's win over the Magic with a calf injury and is expected to be sidelined for another week, while Ersan Ilyasova sat out with a sore right groin and his status is uncertain for Saturday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Aldridge is averaging 37.5 points in his last two outings.
2. The Bucks' last five home losses have been by a combined 19 points.
3. Milwaukee has dished out 25 or more assists in five straight games.