Trail Blazers at Lakers
The Portland Trail Blazers will be trying for their first season sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers since the 1993-94 season when the teams meet Friday night in Los Angeles. Portland will be eager to move on after it blew a 13-point lead with just under a minute left in the third quarter and lost to the Clippers 126-122 on Wednesday.
The Trail Blazers surrendered 41 points in the fourth quarter of the loss to the Clippers, the most points they’ve allowed in any quarter this season. Portland point guard Damian Lillard has lit up the Lakers this season, averaging 29.3 points in the three victories. On the down side, the Trail Blazers will be playing the first of five games in seven nights, including stops in Los Angeles and Brooklyn in that span. One of the few positives for the Lakers this season has been the play of rookie point guard Jordan Clarkson, who’s averaging 21 points and 6.7 assists in the last six games.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, CSN Northwest (Portland), TWC SportsNet (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (48-26): Nicolas Batum is coming off his highest-scoring game in more than two months, putting up 21 points in the loss to the Clippers. The Trail Blazers need his scoring ability if they hope to make it through the first round of the playoffs, which might just be another matchup with the Clippers. He’s 19-for-29 from the floor in the last three games, including 12-for-18 from beyond the 3-point arc.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (20-54): Tarik Black is another rookie who’s angling for a spot on the Los Angeles roster next season. He’s coming off a season-high 16 points on 8-for-10 shooting in a loss to the visiting New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. Black seems to have supplanted Ed Davis in the rotation after Davis did not make an appearance for the second straight game Wednesday night.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Trail Blazers backup F Dorell Wright suffered a fractured bone in his left hand in Wednesday's loss to the Clippers and is expected to be out the rest of the regular season.
2. Portland is 5-1 in its last six games against the Lakers, including three straight wins in Los Angeles.
3. Lakers F Wesley Johnson, the fourth overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, is averaging 9.7 points, which would be a career high.
PREDICTION: Trail Blazers 112, Lakers 92