Trail Blazers at Lakers
The Portland Trail Blazers have a great opportunity to continue their pursuit of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference when they visit the last-place Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. The Trail Blazers have won five of their last six after capping a three-game homestand with a 112-100 win over Minnesota on Saturday night.
The surge has pushed Portland to within a game of eighth-place Denver, which visits the Blazers on Tuesday. C.J. McCollum carried the load in the latest triumph with 32 points on 11-of-13 shooting and he is averaging 26.4 points while hitting 56.2 percent from the field in his last five games against the Lakers. Los Angeles also took care of the Timberwolves in overtime its last time out to snap a six-game slide. Jordan Clarkson's career-high 35 points was the difference for the Lakers, who have lost all three meetings with the Blazers this season and 11 in a row between the rivals.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, KGW (Portland), Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (34-38): McCollum made 4-of-5 3-pointers and Damian Lillard hit 3-of-6 en route to 21 points in Saturday's win. Their efforts were the catalyst behind Portland's season-high 62.5 percent showing from the field, while Evan Turner and Al-Farouq Aminu each were 4-for-5 off the bench. Allen Crabbe chipped in a pair of 3-pointers and he has hit at least one in 14 straight games while making 30-of-63 from beyond the arc.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (21-51): Clarkson also made a career-high eight 3-pointers as he rebounded nicely from a woeful 1-for-9 shooting display three nights earlier against the Los Angeles Clippers. "He seemed to have that spark back that he's played with most of the year," coach Luke Walton told reporters. Julius Randle chipped in 23 points and 12 rebounds in the win while fellow forward Brandon Ingram sat out the fourth quarter and overtime with a knee issue that has him questionable for Sunday's tilt.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Lakers' last win in the series came March 3, 2014, at home.
2. Lakers G Nick Young (illness) has missed three straight games.
3. Portland is 7-6 in the second game of a back-to-back.