Lakers at Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers may again be without star point guard Damian Lillard when they attempt to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers for the ninth consecutive time on Thursday. Lillard sat out the past five games with a sprained left ankle but has been upgraded to "day-to-day."
Lillard, who averages 27 points per game, again watched from the bench as the Trail Blazers suffered a 125-117 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. "I'm sure if I wanted to press the issue, I could probably get out there," Lillard told reporters, "but I'm going to trust what they say and go along with that. (Doctors) are in their position to do their job for a reason and they have my best interests so I've got to trust that." Los Angeles is trying to remain in the Western Conference playoff race and could use more high-octane performances from forward Julius Randle, who had 19 points, 14 rebounds and a career-best 11 assists in Tuesday's 116-102 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. "It's been sloppy at times, but it really has slowly been getting better and better and he's starting to really read what's available for him, which is great," Lakers coach Luke Walton told reporters of Randle. "Early in the season, I felt like he was trying to force a little bit, and now he's doing a much better job of surveying the court and making the appropriate read."
TV: 10:30 p.m. TNT, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles), CSN Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (13-25): Some observers see superstar potential in the 22-year-old Randle, and Walton is striving to harness those abilities and see him play at a sustained level. The Kentucky product gets lackadaisical on occasion, and Walton scorched him during Monday's practice before later calling Randle on the phone to make sure his mood was right — with the evidence on display against the Grizzlies. "Just trying to grow up and just be coachable," Randle told reporters. "Early, I might pout or whatever and it would throw me off my game. But just trying to be coachable and take it as a challenge or go."
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (15-22): Standout shooting guard C.J. McCollum scored 35 points in the loss to the Warriors and is averaging 31.2 points in the five games Lillard has missed. McCollum has 78 points over the last two games after scoring a career-best 43 against Minnesota on Sunday and tallied 26 points in the first half against the Warriors before scoring just nine of 3-of-12 shooting in the second half. "I just missed some shots. It happens," McCollum said afterward. "I had a lot of good looks from 3 that I didn't make and I missed a couple layups. Credit to them, they did a good job defensively."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Lakers have won just five of their past 25 visits to Portland.
2. Portland C Mason Plumlee posted 16 points and 10 rebounds against the Warriors for his third double-double in five games.
3. Los Angeles SF Luol Deng (biceps) missed Wednesday's practice and is listed as questionable.