Nets at Trail Blazers
Before beginning a four-game road trip, the Portland Trail Blazers will try to polish off a perfect four-game homestand when they host the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. The Blazers defeated Indiana, Dallas and Detroit to begin the homestand, with Saturday's 117-112 triumph over the Pistons pulling them within a half-game of third-place Houston in the Western Conference entering Sunday.
Star guard CJ McCollum (knee) missed his third straight contest for Portland, but backcourtmate Damian Lillard is averaging 30.3 points and 12 assists in that span. "Since the All-Star break, it has been different guys on different nights," coach Terry Stotts told reporters of his team's ability to fill in the gaps. "Whether it's Rodney (Hood) having a game in Charlotte, Seth (Curry) filling in now, Moe (Harkless) has played exceptionally well. (Lillard), since CJ's been out, he's really controlled the game at the offensive end and made it easier for everybody else." The Nets followed up their historic fourth-quarter comeback win in Sacramento with a 111-106 victory at the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, improving to 2-3 on their seven-game road trip. Joe Harris scored 26 points versus the Lakers as Brooklyn stayed tied with Detroit for sixth place in the East entering Sunday, 1 1/2 games up on eighth-place Miami.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBATV, YES (Brooklyn), NBCS Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE NETS (38-36): D'Angelo Russell erupted in for 27 points in the fourth quarter to lead Brooklyn at Sacramento and he added another 21 to go along with 13 assists in the win over the Lakers, eliminating his former team from playoff contention. "Sounds good on paper, but at the end of the day, we're not playing them," Russell told reporters. "We're not competing against them for seeding, so the win is good enough." Harris hit 6-of-8 3-pointers and is 13-of-23 from beyond the arc on the road trip.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (45-27): While Lillard was excellent once again in the win over the Pistons, forward Al-Farouq Aminu helped Portland get to the finish line with nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter. "He was cutting, screening, he was ready to shoot the ball," Lillard told reporters. "I just think when your mind is in the right place and you're doing whatever you can for the team, good things happen." Aminu shot 8-of-13 from the floor as the Blazers finished at 54.4 percent, their best mark in a home game since Jan. 11.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nets SG Allen Crabbe (knee) has missed four straight games.
2. Blazers C Jusuf Nurkic had 27 points and 12 rebounds in a 113-99 win at Brooklyn last month.
3. Brooklyn PF Ed Davis is averaging 10 rebounds in 17.4 minutes on the road trip.