Trail Blazers Game Notes: Portland Trail Blazers (17-25) vs. Orlando Magic (8-36)

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (17-25) AT ORLANDO MAGIC (8-36)

Monday, January 17, 4:00 p.m. (Pacific) • Amway Center

Orlando, Florida

ALL TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 38-25

PORTLAND HOME: Trail Blazers lead, 21-11

ORLANDO HOME: Trail Blazers lead, 17-14

LAST PORTLAND WIN: 112-105, 3/26/21 (Orl.)

LAST ORLANDO WIN: 115-109, 1/13/17 (Por.)

CURRENT WIN STREAK: Nine (Por.)

• Monday's game is the first matchup between Orlando and Portland this season, the second will occur on February 8 in Portland.

• LAST MEETING: Portland defeated Orlando 112-105 behind 22-point efforts from CJ McCollum and Norman Powell. Anfernee Simons contributed 15 points off the bench while Robert Covington tallied four blocks. Chuma Okeke led the Magic with 22 points, six rebounds and four assists.

• Both teams rank in the Top-11 in the NBA in three-point attempts per game, with Portland sitting at sixth (38.0) and Orlando at 11th (36.4). The Magic are 27th (32.3%) in three-point percentage while the Trail Blazers rank 10th (35.7%).

• The Trail Blazers are averaging 112.3 points per game in January, good for 12th best in the NBA and up from their season average of 108.9.

• Jusuf Nurkić has averaged 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 10 career games against Orlando.

• Robert Covington has faced off against the Magic 16 times in his career, averaging 11.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.63 steals and 1.19 blocks.

• Dennis Smith Jr. has averaged 10 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists in five career games against Orlando.

• Monday's game will be the 13th time Ben McLemore has played against the Magic, he has averaged 8.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in the previous 12 matchups.

• Terrence Ross has played the Trail Blazers 16 times in his career, averaging 10.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.25 steals.

• Wendell Carter Jr. has averaged 15.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in four career games against Portland.

• Nassir Little, Ben McLemore Jusuf Nurkić and Anfernee Simons are all riding streaks of four-plus games scoring in double figures.

SIMONS CANT BE STOPPED: Anfernee Simons knocked down seven three-pointers in the first half at Washington on Jan. 15, becoming the sixth player in NBA history to record five games with seven-plus three-pointers before turning 23. He finished the half with 26 points and six assists, just the fifth player to record that stat line in one half this season.

DOUBLE-FIGURE STREAK: Nassir Little and Ben McLemore have each recorded four consecutive games scoring in double figures between Jan. 9 and Jan. 15, for Little it represents a career-long streak.

RED HOT ANT: Anfernee Simons is off to a scorching start to 2022, he has set career-highs in points (43) and assists (11) while turning in 20-plus point performances in five of six games. His 23 point (10-24 FG, 2-11 3-PT, 1-2 FT), 11 assist and six rebound performance against Brooklyn on Jan. 10 marked his first double-double of the season, a repeat performance of 31 points and 11 assists on Jan. 15 marked his second. In 2022, Simons is averaging 28.3 points, 8.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 51.3% from the field, 45.7% from deep and 90.9% at the line.

STARTING FIVE: The starting lineup of Nassir Little, Robert Covington, Jusuf Nurkić, Ben McLemore and Anfernee Simons became the first Portland unit this season to all score in double figures on Jan. 10 vs. Brooklyn. The unit repeated the effort on Jan. 15 at Washington.

ROCO IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Robert Covington became the first player in franchise history, and 23rd in NBA history, to finish a game with at least five three-pointers, three steals and three blocks when he did so against Brooklyn on Jan. 10. He finished the game with 21 points (6-9 FG, 5-8 3-PT, 4-4 FT), five rebounds, three steals, three blocks and one assist.

NURK DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Jusuf Nurkić recorded 23 points (9-15 FG, 0-1 3-PT, 5-10 FT), 14 rebounds, two assists and two steals at Washington on Jan. 15. It was his team-leading 17th double-double of the season.

Game #42 - Portland 115, Washington 110 — January 15, 2022, Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.

Portland earned their third road win of the season with a 115-110 victory at Washington ... Anfernee Simons continued his hot streak, earning his third career double-double with 31 points (11-21 FG, 7-14 3-PT, 2-3 FT) and 11 assists, his seven first half three-pointers made him the sixth player in NBA history to record five games with seven-plus threes before turning 23 ... Jusuf Nurkic tallied his 17th double-double of the season with 23 points and 14 rebounds to go with a pair of assists and a pair of steals ... Robert Covington recorded 15 points (5-13 FG, 2-6 3-PT, 3-4 FT), nine rebounds, four steals and two assists ... Nassir Little finished with 18 points, his fourth consecutive game in double figures ... Ben McLemore scored 10 points in 28 minutes ... Spencer Dinwiddie led the Wizards with 27 points ... Kyle Kuzma dropped a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

Game #41 - Denver 140, Portland 108 — January 13, 2022, Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado

Portland fell to Denver 140-108 at Ball Arena ... Ben McLemore led the scoring effort for the Trail Blazers with 18 points (6-14 FG, 4-9 3-PT, 2-3 FT), four assists, two steals, one block and one rebound ... Dennis Smith Jr. entered the starting lineup and tallied 17 points (7-12 FG, 0-1 3-PT, 3-5 FT), eight assists, two rebounds and one steal ... Jusuf Nurkic grabbed eight rebounds and knocked down four shots to finish with 10 points ... Trendon Watford had a big night, setting career highs in points (11) and blocked shots (2) ... Robert Covington scored 10 points (4-10 FG, 2-5 3-PT, 0-2 FT) with seven rebounds and four steals ... Portland's five starters have all scored in double figures in back-to-back games ... Will Barton led the Nuggets with 21 points, four rebounds and two assists ... Nikola Jokic tallied 20 points (8-10 FG, 1-2 3-PT, 3-3 FT), eight rebounds and seven assists.

Game #40 - Portland 114, Brooklyn 108 — January 10, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon

Portland won both games of a back-to-back with a 114-108 win vs. Brooklyn at Moda Center ... Robert Covington became the first player in franchise history with a single-game performance of five three-pointers, three blocks and three steals, finishing the night with 21 points (6-9 FG, 5-8 3-PT, 4-4 FT) and five rebounds ... Anfernee Simons logged his first double-double of the season with 23 points (10-24 FG, 2-11 3-PT, 1-2 FT), a career-high 11 assists and six rebounds ... Ben McLemore knocked down five three-pointers en route to 20 points (6-11 FG, 5-8 3-PT, 3-4 FT), five rebounds, two blocks and one steal ... The Trail Blazers got off to hot starts in each half, outscoring the Nets 33-26 in the first quarter and 32-19 in the third ... Portland's nine blocked shots tied a season-high ... Kevin Durant led the Nets with 28 points (9-19 FG, 2-7 3-PT, 8-8 FT) and 10 rebounds ... Cam Thomas contributed 21 points off the bench.

Game #39 - Portland 103, Sacramento 88 — January 9, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon

Portland defeated Sacramento 103-88 at Moda Center ...Jusuf Nurkic finished an assist shy of his second career triple-double, totaling 14 points (6-12 FG, 1-2 3-PT, 1-3 FT), 16 rebounds, nine assists, two steals and one block in 38 minutes ... Anfernee Simons led the scoring efforts with 31 points (10-17 FG, 7-11 3-PT, 4-4 FT), six assists and three rebounds in 35 minutes ... Nassir Little chipped in 13 points (4-13 FG, 3-8 3-PT, 2-2 FT), grabbed three rebounds and dished two assists in 34 minutes ... Ben McLemore started in place of Norman Powell (Health and safety protocols) and totaled 13 points (5-12 FG, 3-8 3-PT), two rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes ... Portland's defense held Sacramento to 88 points, a season low for a Trail Blazers opponent... Tyrese Haliburton led the Kings with 17 points (6-11 FG, 2-6 3-PT, 3-4 FT) and nine assists... Alex Len contributed a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Game #38 - Cleveland 114, Portland 101 —January 7, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon

Portland fell to Cleveland 114-101 at Moda Center... Norman Powell led the way with 19 points (5-14 FG, 4-8 3-PT, 5-8 FT), his sixth game leading the team in scoring, while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out three assists in 36 minutes... Jusuf Nurkic set a career-high with two three-pointers and tallied his team-high 26th double-double with 14 points (5-17 FG, 2-2 3-PT, 2-4 FT), 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block... Robert Covington returned to the starting lineup and tied a season-high with five three-pointers made, finishing with 17 points (6-9 FG, 5-8 3-PT), eight rebounds, one assist and two blocks... Anfernee Simons, in his third consecutive start, chipped in a game-high seven assists along with 14 points (6-15 FG, 2-8 3-Pt), three rebounds, one steal and one block...Darius Garland led the Cavaliers with 26 points (10-17 FG, 5-8 3-PT, 1-1 FT) and six assists.

For the Trail Blazers, Norman Powell (covid recovery) is questionable; CJ Elleby (right ankle sprain) is doubtful; Damian Lillard (core muscle recovery), Larry Nance Jr. (right knee inflammation), and Cody Zeller (right patellar fracture) are out.

For the Magic, Wendell Carter Jr. (left hamstring; sore), Michael Carter-Williams (left ankle; injury recovery), Markelle Fultz (left knee; injury recovery), Jonathan Isaac (left knee; injury recovery), and E'Twaun Moore (left knee; sprain) are out.

Monday’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.