#PORvsDET Preview
PORTLAND - After earning a significant win in their second game without Wesley Matthews, the Portland Trail Blazers will try to keep rolling by adding to the Detroit Pistons' woes.
The Blazers will try for their seventh victory in eight games while sending the Pistons to a ninth consecutive defeat Friday night.
Portland (42-20) lost Matthews to a season-ending Achilles injury last Thursday and fell 121-113 at lowly Minnesota two days later in its initial game without him. The Blazers bounced back with a 105-100 win over visiting Houston on Wednesday and clinched the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Rockets, one of the top four teams in the Western Conference along with Portland.
With an eight-game cushion in the Northwest Division, the Blazers are in fine position for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs but face a battle for positioning near the top of the conference.
"We've got 20 games left and it could be a tight race down the stretch," said guard Arron Afflalo, who shot 2 of 13 and scored nine points in his second start in place of Matthews. "We'll continue to fight to try to move up the rankings. So tonight was an important victory."
Portland will try to bolster its chances for a better seed with a fifth consecutive win over Detroit (23-41) and seventh in a row in the series at home. The Blazers open a five-game trip that begins Sunday against Atlantic Division-leading Toronto.
"I think we're just trying to find our rhythm right now," forward LaMarcus Aldridge said. "It's coming to the home stretch and it's the best time to be playing great. I think right now guys are locked in."
Portland dealt Detroit the last of its 13 consecutive defeats Dec. 9 and held the Pistons to their second-worst shooting performance this season at 35.1 percent in that 98-86 victory.
Five of Detroit's eight consecutive losses have come on the road, though the club was competitive against league-leading Golden State on Wednesday until the Warriors pulled away in the fourth quarter of their 105-98 victory.
Andre Drummond had a career-high 27 rebounds - 17 offensive - and 22 points, but the Pistons committed eight of their 15 turnovers in the final period.
"I thought our guys gave a great effort tonight. We just didn't execute and take care of the ball down the stretch," coach Stan Van Gundy said.
The Pistons have lost six in a row and 10 of 11 on the road. One more defeat will clinch their seventh consecutive losing season and give them their longest such run since a stretch of 14 that began with their final season in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1956-57.
INJURY REPORT
Portland: Alonzo Gee (oral surgery) is out. Wesley Matthews (torn left Achilles) is out.
Detroit: Brandon Jennings (ruptured left Achilles tendon) is out.
Participation Status Key:
- Probable – 75% chance that the player will play in the game
- Questionable – 50% chance that the player will play in the game
- Doubtful – 25% chance that the player will play in the game
- Out – Player will not play in the game
Projected Starters
SF
PF
C
SG
PG
Season Series
Previous Games
Remaining Games
Series Notes
- Portland defeated the Pistons 98-86 on Dec. 9 in Detroit behind 23 points and 11 rebounds from LaMarcus Aldridge.
- Portland is 10-2 against the Pistons dating back to the start of the 2008-09 season.
- The Trail Blazers haven’t lost to the Pistons in Portland since Mar. 14, 2007. Portland is 6-0 against Detroit at home during that time.
- LaMarcus Aldridge has averaged 27.4 points over his past seven games against the Pistons while also recording five consecutive double-doubles.
- Robin Lopez grabbed 11 rebounds against Detroit earlier this season and has now hauled in 10+ rebounds in four of his past five games against the Pistons.
- Chris Kaman has scored 10+ points against the Pistons in eight of his past nine games. Kaman scored 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting against Detroit on Dec. 9.
Promotions
In Portland's Last Game
“I liked the way we played,” said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. It thought it was a very good basketball game. The first half was more offensive, the second half was more defense. Our second half defensive numbers were very good. The job that primarily Arron (Afflalo) and Nic (Batum) did on (James) Harden was exceptional and they made him work for it.”
With the win, the Trail Blazers are now 42-20 on the season and 27-6 at home, winning seven of their last eight games at the Moda Center. The victory also gives Portland the season series over Houston for the first time since the 2o10-11 season and moves them into a tie with the Rockets for third place in the Western Conference.
“It was a big game for us and we all knew it and I thought everybody was locked in, focused and ready to go,” said LaMarcus Aldridge. “I thought guys played great. We played great defense, concentrated at both ends of the floor.”
The game was about as close as it could be in the first half. The Trail Blazers scored 54 points, the Rockets 53. Portland made 24 of their field goal attempts and five of their three-pointers, Houston made 22 field goals and five three-pointers. The Rockets scored 30 of their points in the paint, the Blazers scored 28. The Rockets did outscore Portland 12-3 on fastbreaks and went to the free throw line eight more times, but Houston converted just four of those attempts and the Trail Blazers dominated the boards 31-18. Basically, everything evened out going into the intermission.
But thanks in large part to Aldridge picking up three fouls in roughly 58 seconds early in the third, the Rockets were able to put together a 10-2 run to take a 63-56 lead with just over seven minutes to play in the quarter. But Nicolas Batum and Meyers Leonard, who replaced Aldridge after he picked up his fourth foul, combined to score the next 12 points for the Trail Blazers to take a 68-67 lead.