PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (21-34) VS LOS ANGELES LAKERS (26-29)
Wednesday, February 9 • 7:00 p.m. (Pacific) • Moda Center
Portland, Oregon
SERIES HISTORY
ALL TIME: Lakers lead, 125-111
PORTLAND HOME: Trail Blazers lead, 72-44
LAKERS HOME: Lakers lead, 81-39
LAST PORTLAND WIN: 105-90, 11/6/21 (Por.)
LAST LAKERS WIN: 99-94, 2/2/22 (L.A.)
CURRENT WIN STREAK: Two (L.A.)
SERIES NOTES
• Wednesday's meeting is the fourth and final meeting between the Trail Blazers and Lakers this season. Los Angeles currently holds the edge in the season series, 2-1.
• LAST MEETING: Portland fell to Los Angeles 99-94 at Crypto.com Arena. Norman Powell led Portland with 30 points while Anfernee Simons dropped 19 along with three assists and two boards. Anthony Davis scored a team-high 30 for L.A. while Carmelo Anthony added 24 points, eight rebounds and two steals off the bench.
• On the defensive end, Portland ranks 3rd in the NBA in allowing second-chance points at 11.8 per game while Los Angeles scores the fifth-fewest second-chance points in the league at 11.4 per game.
• The Lakers get to the charity stripe at a high rate, averaging 22.3 FTA per game while the Trail Blazers rank 11th with 21.6.
• Since January 1, Portland is averaging 7.8 steals per game, 11th best mark in the NBA, while Los Angeles commits 12.8 turnovers per game during that span, the 4th best mark in the league.
• Jusuf Nurkić has recorded a double-double in six consecutive games against the Lakers, including 16 points and 13 rebounds last week. He is averaging 14.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.00 steals per game during that stretch.
• Justise Winslow has scored 15-plus points in three of his last five games against the Lakers, averaging 15.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in that stretch.
• In his last five games against the Lakers, Ben McLemore has averaged 10.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.4 assists, including a 28-point performance on Dec. 31, 2021.
• LeBron James has averaged 33.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 7.4 assists in his last five matchups against the Trail Blazers, recording three double-doubles and one triple-double.
• Anthony Davis has recorded a double-double in three of his last five games against Portland, dropping 30-plus points three times to average 24.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists.
NEWS AND NOTES
BEAST ON THE BOARDS: Jusuf Nurkić has grabbed 563 rebounds on the season, the fourth most in the NBA, and the most he has tallied through his team's first 55 games in his career. His 10.8 rebounds per game average ranks 10th while his 15 double-doubles since Jan. 1 rank 2nd behind only Nikola Jokic (18).
TRADE SEASON: Portland acquired Josh Hart, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky, Didi Louzada and three draft picks from the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell. Prior to joining the Trail Blazers, Hart has averaged 13.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.10 steals while Alexander-Walker has averaged career-highs of 12.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
FLORIDA'S FINEST: Anfernee Simons went 5-of-13 from deep vs. Milwaukee on Feb. 5, his 13th game this season where he has hit five-plus three-pointers, the most in the NBA for a player 22 years old or younger. His 19 career games with five-plus three-pointers are tied for the 6th-most in NBA history for a player before turning 23.
RIP CITY DEBUT: Justise Winslow made his Trail Blazers debut on Feb. 5 vs. Milwaukee, dropping six points (3-5 FG, 0-1 3-PT) with seven rebounds, one assist and one block in 20 minutes of action. He recorded his first start on Feb. 8 vs. Orlando and scored 12 points with six rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.
TRADE ALERT: The Trail Blazers acquired guards Eric Bledsoe and Keon Johnson and forward Justise Winslow on Feb. 4 in exchange for Norman Powell and Robert Covington. Prior to the trade, Bledsoe averaged 9.9 points, 4.2 assists and 3.4 rebounds. Keon Johnson averaged 3.5 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists while Justise Winslow was averaging 4.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
LAST FIVE GAMES
Game #55 - Orlando 113, Portland 95 — February 8, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Portland lost to Orlando 113-95 following a trade that left the team with nine active players ... Anfernee Simons dropped 19 points for the fourth straight game, shooting 7-of-17 from the field, 3-of-9 from deep and 2-of-3 at the line, finishing with five rebounds, five assists and one steal ... Jusuf Nurkić tallied his 27th double-double of the season with 14 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks ... Greg Brown III scored a career-high 15 points off the bench, grabbing a career-high eight rebounds and one steal ... Justise Winslow made his first start as a Trail Blazer and recorded 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks ... CJ Elleby tallied 11 points (4-10 FG, 1-2 3-PT, 2-2 FT) with nine rebounds, four assists and two steals ... Cole Anthony led the Magic with 23 points, nine assists and seven rebounds ... Wendell Carter Jr. added 18 points, eight boards and five assists.
Game #54 - Milwaukee 137, Portland 108 — February 5, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Portland fell to Milwaukee 137-108 at Moda Center ... Jusuf Nurkić dropped a double-double with 11 points (5-6 FG, 1-3 FT) and 10 boards, along with three assists and two blocks ... Ben McLemore contributed 19 points off the bench, knocking down four three-pointers, adding four rebounds and two assists ... Anfernee Simons scored 19 points, knocking down fivee-plus three-pointers for the 13th time this season ... CJ McCollum added 17 points (7-18 FG, 1-8 3-PT, 2-2 FT), six assists and two rebounds ... Tony Snell scored nine points, grabbed one rebound, one block and one steal ... Greg Brown III scored a career-high 10 points (4-7 FG, 1-2 3-PT, 1-3 FT) off the bench, adding four rebounds, one steal and one block ... Justise Winslow scored six points and grabbed seven boards in his Portland debut ... Bobby Portis led Milwaukee with 30 points while Giannis Antetokounmpo added 29 points and nine boards.
Game #53 - Oklahoma City 96, Portland 93 — February 4, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Portland lost to Oklahoma City 96-93 at Moda Center ... Four Portland starters scored in double-figures, led by Jusuf Nurkić who turned in a double-double with 14 points (6-19 FG, 2-3 FT), 16 rebounds, two assists and two steals ... CJ McCollum added 19 points (9-24 FG, 1-9 3-PT), six rebounds and four assists ... Anfernee Simons dropped 19 points (7-15 FG, 1-6 3-PT, 4-5 FT), five rebounds, four assists and two steals ... CJ Elleby tallied his first start of the season and recorded seven points, eight rebounds, two assists and one block ... Tony Snell scored a season-high 13 points (5-10 FG, 3-8 3-PT), eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks ... Trendon Watford added eight points off the bench ... Dennis Smith Jr. recorded six points, three assists and three boards ... Luguentz Dort led the Thunder with 23 points and seven rebounds ... Josh Giddey added 16 points and seven boards.
Game #52 - L.A. Lakers 99, Portland 94 — February 2, 2022, Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
Portland fell to the Lakers 99-94 in Los Angeles ... Norman Powell led all Trail Blazers with 30 points (10-20 FG, 5-11 3-PT, 5-6 FT), two points shy of his season-high, along with five boards, one assist, one steal and one block ... Jusuf Nurkić turned in a double-double with 16 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block ... Anfernee Simons dropped 19 points (7-18 FG, 3-10 3-PT, 2-3 FT) with three assists, two rebounds and one steal ... CJ McCollum added 15 points (5-17 FG, 4-7 3-PT, 1-2 FT), eight rebounds, three assists and two steals ... Robert Covington fell an assist shy of a rebound-assist double-double, finishing with 13 rebounds, nine assists, four steals, one block and zero points ... Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 30 points (10-18 FG, 10-14 FT), 15 rebounds, three blocks and two assists ... Carmelo Anthony added 24 points and eight boards off the bench.
Game #51 - Oklahoma City 98, Portland 81 — January 31, 2022, Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Portland lost to Oklahoma City 98-81 at the Paycom Center ... CJ McCollum led the Trail Blazers with 21 points (10-17 FG, 1-6 3-PT, 0-0 FT), seven assists and three boards ... Norman Powell added 17 (6-15 FG, 3-8 3-PT, 2-3 FT) with five rebounds, two assists and one block ... Jusuf Nurkić grabbed nine boards along with 14 points, one assist, one steal and one block ... Anfernee Simons tallied eight points, five rebounds and two assists ... Robert Covington recorded three steals, three blocks, three assists, four rebounds and two points ... Dennis Smith Jr. led the bench unit with six points, five rebounds, one assist and one block ... Trendon Watford scored five rebounds, grabbed three boards, dished two assists and snagged one steal ... Luguentz Dort led the Thunder with 18 points, six rebounds and three assists ... Darius Bazley chipped in 15 points off the bench.
INJURY NOTES
The Trail Blazers, playing on the second game of a back-to-back, have yet to release an injury report for Wednesday’s game against the Lakers.
The Lakers, also playing on the second game of a back-to-back, have yet to release an injury report either.
BROADCAST NOTES
Wednesday’s game can be seen locally on ROOT SPORTS Plus with Kevin Calabro, Lamar Hurd and Brooke Olzendam calling the action. ROOT SPORTS Plus is free for all ROOT SPORTS subscribers, varying by provider. Visit trailblazers.com/watch for more information. On the radio side, Travis Demers, Michael Holton and Jay Allen will have the call on Rip City Radio 620 AM and on all of the stations of the Deschutes Brewery Trail Blazers Radio Network.
ARENA NOTES
The Trail Blazers and Rose Quarter are requiring all guests ages 12 and up attending any event at the Rose Quarter, including Winterhawks games, to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or provide proof of either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event or a negative lab-based rapid test taken within 48 hours of the event. At-home tests will not be accepted.
Kids under age 12 can come to events without proof of vaccination or proof of a negative test unless sitting within 15 feet of the court and benches at a Trail Blazers game. All guests must wear a mask at all times while on the Rose Quarter campus.
Click here for more information on Moda Center’s health and safety protocols.