Wizards at Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers put together a pair of impressive wins to begin the season and are feeling good about themselves and their chances in the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers will try to remain undefeated on Monday, when they host a Washington Wizards team coming off a pair of tough losses to begin the campaign.
Portland knocked off the Los Angeles Lakers in the opener and shot 53.6 percent from the floor in a 121-108 triumph over the San Antonio Spurs at home on Saturday as Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum combined for 53 points. "Getting good, quality looks from 3," McCollum told reporters. "Our guys are setting great screens, bigs rolling, (center Jusuf Nurkic) was finishing well around the basket. Defensively, we weren't giving up as many offensive rebounds early in the third quarter, so we were able to get out and run right after the shot." The Wizards fell to Miami and Toronto by a combined five points in two home games to begin the season and are staring at a five-game road trip that includes a stop in Golden State after Portland. "I like where we are, and I'll never give up on our team," shooting guard Bradley Beal told reporters. "We’re going to figure it out. We're going on the road and it doesn’t get easier, which I like. It just continues to challenge us and prepare us for down the road."
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBCS Washington, NBCS Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE WIZRDS (0-2): Beal scored 32 points in Saturday's 117-113 loss and went 6-of-11 from 3-point range to reach 870 made 3-pointers in his career, passing Gilbert Arenas (868) for the franchise record. "I wasn’t aware, but that's a blessing," Beal told reporters. "That’s amazing and I'm honored. I won't say that was a goal of mine. That's a pretty cool accomplishment to have and one that I'm proud of. I wish it was a win on top of this, but I'm proud." Backcourtmate John Wall is averaging 25.5 points but is just 1-of-10 from beyond the arc.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (2-0): Lillard is averaging 28.5 points and played largely mistake-free basketball on Saturday while handling out nine assists with no turnovers. "I have the ball in my hands a lot, so I know that it's going to happen some games, and also some nights, you just turn the ball over," Lillard told reporters. "You're throwing it out there, your timing is off, things happen, but as a point guard and somebody who our team counts on to be able to take care of the ball, I do take pride in taking care of it." The starting five accounted for just four turnovers on Saturday while combining for 14 assists.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Trail Blazers SG Nik Stauskas slumped to three points on 1-of-5 shooting Saturday after scoring 24 points on 7-of-11 in the opener.
2. Wizards C Dwight Howard (back) has yet to make his season debut and is questionable for Monday.
3. The road team took each of the two meetings last season, with Washington claiming a 106-92 win at Portland on Dec. 5.