PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (22-34) VS NEW YORK KNICKS (25-31)
Saturday, February 12 • 2:00 p.m. (Pacific) • Moda Center
Portland, Oregon
SERIES HISTORY
ALL TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 68-49
PORTLAND HOME: Trail Blazers lead, 44-14
NEW YORK HOME: Knicks lead, 35-24
LAST PORTLAND WIN: 116-113, 1/24/21 (Por.)
LAST NEW YORK WIN: 110-99, 2/6/21 (NY)
CURRENT WIN STREAK: One (NY)
SERIES NOTES
• Saturday's matchup is the first of two games between the Knicks and Trail Blazers this season and the only matchup at Moda Center.
• LAST MEETING: Portland fell to New York 110-99 at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks were led by Julius Randle's double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds while Elfrid Payton contributed 22 points, seven boards and four assists. Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers with 29 points, nine assists, four boards and four steals.
• Both teams rank in the Top 10 in the NBA in made three-pointers, Portland ranks seventh with 13.4 per game while New York ranks ninth with 13.0. Both teams shoot 35.4%, just outside of the Top 10.
• Portland holds opponents to a 25.9 offensive rebound percentage, ranked third in the NBA, while the Knicks rank sixth with a 29.2 offensive rebound percentage as a team.
• The Trail Blazers average 16.3 points off turnovers per game, 10th best in the league while the Knicks average 13.6 turnovers per game, the 11th fewest in the league.
• Jusuf Nurkić has not faced off against the Knicks since 2019, when he turned in a 20-point, eight-rebound performance in a 111-101 victory on Jan. 7, 2019.
• Ben McLemore has averaged 9.0 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists in his last five games against the Knicks.
• Anfernee Simons is averaging 22.6 points (23rd in NBA), 6.0 assists (30th), 2.8 rebounds and 4.2 three-pointers (2nd) per game since January 1.
• Dennis Smith Jr. has averaged 12.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in seven career games against the Knicks.
• Julius Randle has averaged 25.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists in his last five games against Portland.
• In his last five games against the Trail Blazers, Derrick Rose has averaged 17.0 points, 5.8 assists and 4.0 rebounds, scoring 15-plus points in each game.
NEWS AND NOTES
FLORIDA'S FINEST: Anfernee Simons went 5-of-11 from three vs. the Lakers on Feb. 9, his 14th game this season with five-plus three-pointers, the most in the NBA for a player 22 years old or younger and fourth most in the league overall. His 20 career games with five-plus three-pointers are the 6th-most in NBA history for a player before turning 23.
DENNIS THE MENACE: Dennis Smith Jr. dished 11 assists and snagged six steals vs. the Lakers on Feb. 9, becoming the ninth player in NBA history to record that stat line off the bench, he also contributed seven points and two rebounds. As a team, Portland recorded 15 steals, most since Feb. 6, 2016 at Hou.
BEAST ON THE BOARDS: Jusuf Nurkić has grabbed 575 rebounds on the season, fourth-most in the NBA, and the most he has tallied through his team's first 56 games in his career. His 10.8 rebounds per game average ranks 10th while his 16 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.
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.
LAST FIVE GAMES
Game #56 - Portland 107, L.A. Lakers 105 — February 9, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Portland defeated the Lakers 107-105 at Moda Center, behind a tough defensive effort that forced 21 turnovers and tallied 11 steals ... Anfernee Simons led the scoring effort with 29 points, knocking down five three-pointers for the 14th time this season ... Jusuf Nurkić tallied another double-double, finishing with 19 points and 12 rebounds ... Justise Winslow scored 11 points with eight rebounds, three assists and four steals ... Greg Brown III dropped 11 points, two rebounds and a block off the bench ... Dennis Smith Jr. became the ninth player in league history to record 11 assists and six steals off the bench ... CJ Elleby scored eight points with eight rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block in 43 minutes ... Ben McLemore dropped eight points with two rebounds, three steals and a block ... LeBron James led the Lakers with 30 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
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.
INJURY NOTES
For the Trail Blazers, Eric Bledsoe (left Achilles; tendinopathy), Joe Ingles (left knee; ACL tear), Keon Johnson (right ankle; sprain), Damian Lillard (core muscle recovery), Nassir Little (left shoulder recovery) and Didi Louzada (left knee; recovery) are out for Saturday’s game against New York.
For the Knicks, Nerlens Noel (left foot; sore) is questionable; RJ Barrett (left ankle; sprain), Derrick Rose (right ankle; surgery) and Luka Samanic (G League - two-way) are out.
BROADCAST NOTES
Saturday’s game can be seen locally on ROOT SPORTS with Kevin Calabro, Lamar Hurd and Brooke Olzendam calling the action. 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.