New Jersey (22-18) at Portland (14-26) 10:00 pm EST

PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) -- The New Jersey Nets need Vince Carter to get healthy quickly, while the Portland Trail Blazers hope he takes his time recuperating.

With Carter battling a back injury, the Nets go to a place where they have not had much success.

New Jersey appeared sluggish in Wednesday's 90-77 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers as Lawrence Frank's team shot just 38 percent (29-of-76) and committed 14 turnovers.

Five of those miscues were committed by Carter, who scored just three points on 1-of-9 shooting before leaving with a back injury late in the third quarter. The Nets' leading scorer, Carter originally suffered the injury in a loss to Utah on Monday, during which he scored only five points on 2-of-14 shooting.

Jason Kidd scored a team-high 19 points against the Clippers, while Richard Jefferson chipped in 15 for New Jersey, which has dropped six of nine following a 10-game winning streak.

The Nets are just 4-26 all-time at the Rose Garden, including a pitiful 2-16 mark in their last 18 visits.

Portland has dropped two straight since a season-high four-game winning streak following a 97-94 setback against Denver on Wednesday.

Zach Randolph scored 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds and Theo Ratliff chipped in 11 and 12 for the Trail Blazers, who squandered a 12-point lead in the second half.