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Another Big Game Tuesday Night In New Orleans

The Portland Trail Blazers will look to extend their road winning streak to seven games and increase their lead for third-place in the Western Conference when they face the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday night at Smoothie King Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. Portland stated their current three-game road trip by beating the Thunder 108-105 in Oklahoma City Sunday night. With the win, the Trail Blazers (45-28) swept the season series versus 4-0 versus the Thunder and extended their lead for third-place in the Western Conference to 2.0 games. It also pushed their road winning streak to six games."You can tell (the game) meant a lot to both teams," said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. "I just think we made a lot of good plays defensively. We were very good when we needed to be. CJ (McCollum) made some incredible shots. Moe (Harkless) had some outstanding plays up-and-down the line. It was a game both teams needed and I'm glad we got it."It's expected to be a similar situation Tuesday night in New Orleans, as the Pelicans (43-31), a team that has won four of their last five games, are currently 2.5 games behind the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference standings. A win for Portland greatly improve their chances of securing home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, while the Pelicans could move into a tie with the Thunder for fourth with a victory. The tiebreaker between the Blazers and Pelicans is also up for grabs Tuesday night, with New Orleans currently owning a 2-1 advantage in the season series. If the Pelicans win, they secure the tiebreaker thanks to head-to-head record, while if the Trail Blazers even the series with a win, the tiebreaker then goes to division winner. Portland is currently first in the Northwest Division, while the Pelicans can finish no better than second in the Southwest Division. The Pelicans have won the last two games in the series, with the most recent being a 119-113 victory in New Orleans on January 12. New Orleans All-Star forward Anthony Davis finished with 36 points and nine rebounds in the win while DeMarcus Cousins, who is sidelined for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon, went for 24 points, 19 rebounds, nine assists and two blocks. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum each put up 23 points in the losing effort while Al-Farouq Aminu and Jusuf Nurkić each added 19 points. Pelicans Rajon Rondo (right wrist) and Nikola Mirotic (right hip) are listed as questionable for Tuesday night's game. The Trail Blazers have no injuries. Tuesday night`s game can be seen locally on NBC Sports Northwest with Kevin Calabro, Lamar Hurd and Brooke Olzendam. The game will also be available to stream as a part of the Blazers Pass subscription. Scott Lynn will have the call on Rip City Radio 620 AM.