ORLANDO vs PORTLAND
When: 2/9/2021 10:00 PM
Where: Portland

TV: 10:00 PM
LINE:
PREDICTION: PORTLAND , ORLANDO

Oddsmakers currently have the PORTLAND listed as 5.5 point favorites versus the ORLANDO, while the game’s total is sitting at 225.5.

The Trail Blazers have gone 5-5 at home. Portland is second in the Western Conference scoring 114.9 points while shooting 44.1% from the field.

The Magic are 4-7 on the road. Orlando allows 112.2 points to opponents and has been outscored by 7.2 points per game.

The Trail Blazers and Magic meet Tuesday for the first time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS:

Lillard is averaging 29.1 points and 7.3 assists for the Trail Blazers. Enes Kanter is averaging 13.3 rebounds and 13.1 points per game over the last 10 games for Portland.

Nikola Vucevic has shot 48.2% and is averaging 23.1 points for the Magic. James Ennis III is shooting 52.8% and averaging 7.4 points over the last 10 games for Orlando.

LAST 10 GAMES:

Trail Blazers: 5-5, averaging 113.6 points, 44.5 rebounds, 18 assists, 7.2 steals and 5.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 116.5 points on 49.5% shooting.

Magic: 3-7, averaging 105.8 points, 46.9 rebounds, 24.8 assists, 6.2 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 43.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.3 points on 47.4% shooting.

INJURIES:

Trail Blazers: Jusuf Nurkic: out (wrist), Zach Collins: out (ankle), Nassir Little: day to day (knee), CJ McCollum: out (left foot).

Magic: Markelle Fultz: out for season (knee), Evan Fournier: day to day (back), Michael Carter-Williams: day to day (foot), Al-Farouq Aminu: out (knee), Jonathan Isaac: out for season (knee), Aaron Gordon: out (ankle).

BOTTOM LINE: Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers host the Orlando Magic. Lillard ranks fifth in the NBA scoring 29.1 points per game.

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PORTLAND vs NEW YORK
When: 2/6/2021 1:05 PM
Where:

TV: 1:05 PM
LINE:
PREDICTION: NEW YORK , PORTLAND

Oddsmakers currently have the NEW YORK listed as 1.5 point favorites versus the PORTLAND, while the game’s total is sitting at 218.5.

Carmelo Anthony and Enes Kanter didn’t get to play for the New York Knicks when one of the NBA’s marquee franchises fully embraced its role as the scrappy underdog.

But Anthony and Kanter will have a pretty good idea of what life is like these days for the Knicks on Saturday afternoon, when the duo is scheduled to lead the Portland Trail Blazers into New York for a rare non-conference matinee.

Both teams earned road wins in their previous games. The Trail Blazers ensured themselves at least a .500 road trip Thursday night, when undermanned Portland rode a dominant third quarter to a surprising 121-105 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. The Knicks earned a split of a two-game set with the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday by edging the hosts, 107-103.

The Trail Blazers beat one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams despite missing four-fifths of their optimal starting lineup. Leading scorer Damian Lillard was sidelined with a lingering abdominal injury he aggravated against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night. He joined second-leading scorer CJ McCollum (foot) as well as Jusuf Nurkic (right wrist) and Derrick Jones Jr. (foot) on the bench.

But Anthony, who tied a season-high with 22 points, and Kanter, who posted his sixth straight double-double by collecting 17 points and 18 rebounds, sparked a resurgent effort by the Trail Blazers, who broke open a tie game by scoring the first 14 points of the third quarter to take a 71-57 lead. Gary Trent Jr., who had a team-high 24 points, drained a pair of 3-pointers in the run.

“It will always be a memorable win,” Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said.

The Knicks haven’t enjoyed too many memorable wins since the last time they made the playoffs in 2012-13, when Anthony won the NBA scoring title while sparking a run to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Knicks were 184-374 over the subsequent seven seasons– including 17-65 in 2018-19, when Kanter averaged 14.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in 44 games before being waived and eventually signed by the Trail Blazers — before finally committing to a rebuild this season under first-year head coach Tom Thibodeau.

On Wednesday, the Knicks started four players age 26 or younger as they improved to 10-13. New York needed 34 games to get to 10 wins last season and didn’t record its 10th win until the 39th game of the 2018-19 campaign.

The most exciting young player for the Knicks has been rookie point guard Immanuel Quickley, who hasn’t started this season but has scored in double digits in nine of the 19 games in which he’s played. On Wednesday, though, New York was led by starting point guard Elfrid Payton, who scored 20 points and pulled down eight rebounds.

“Listen, we need everyone,” Thibodeau said. “Some nights it’s his night and some nights it’s someone else’s night. That’s what I love about our team. We have to share in that, and we have to do it together.”

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PORTLAND vs PHILADELPHIA
When: 2/4/2021 8:05 PM
Where:

TV: 8:05 PM
LINE:
PREDICTION: PHILADELPHIA , PORTLAND

Oddsmakers currently have the PHILADELPHIA listed as 9.5 point favorites versus the PORTLAND, while the game’s total is sitting at 227.5.

If the 76ers have their regular starting five on the floor Thursday when they host the Portland Trail Blazers, Philadelphia figures to have a strong chance of winning.

After a 118-111 victory over the host Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, the Sixers are 12-0 this season when Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Seth Curry and Danny Green all start.

Philadelphia built a 26-point lead at Charlotte, then held on for its fourth consecutive win overall behind Joel Embiid’s 34 points and 11 rebounds.

Harris added 26 points for the Sixers, who own the best record in the Eastern Conference.

“Just getting downhill and making good decisions when I’m there,” said Harris, who continues to make a strong case for his first career All-Star berth. “The next thing is drawing more contact and fouls when I’m down there. And I have been looking for ways to do that.”

Simmons provided another solid all-around performance while passing effectively out of double teams down low. Simmons had 15 points and nine assists.

“You have to pick your poison,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers said. “If you’re doubling Ben, you’re asking for trouble with his passing ability.”

Key reserve Shake Milton sustained an apparent knee injury in the first half, which looked bad initially. However, Milton was able to return, and he is expected to play against the Trail Blazers.

“Yeah, he’s good,” Rivers said of Milton postgame. “I was scared, I’ll tell you that I thought it was his knee when he did.”

The depleted Trail Blazers have managed to win 11 of their first 20 games despite an array of injuries.

The Trail Blazers continue to play without key players such as Jusuf Nurkic (broken wrist), CJ McCollum (broken foot) and Derrick Jones Jr. (sprained foot), among others.

Portland’s marquee talent, Damian Lillard, is competing at a high level even with an abdominal issue. Lillard had 32 points and eight assists in the Blazers’ 132-121 road victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday.

“We’ve been having guys dropping left and right, dealing with a lot,” Lillard said postgame Tuesday. “And I’ve been dealing with some nagging things myself, where coming into tonight, I felt like I could barely move out there to start the game. And I was even thinking, ‘Should I have sat last night? Or sat tonight?’

“I was pushing and fighting that the whole game, because I knew how important this one was for our season.”

Portland’s Gary Trent Jr. provided a huge lift with 26 points, hitting seven 3-pointers. And Robert Covington, a former Sixer, snapped out of a maddening shooting slump to knock down 6 of 10 shots for 19 points to go along with nine rebounds.

“I like the way he shot the ball with confidence,” Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts said of Covington.

Covington added, “We needed everybody tonight, and so many guys stepped up. That was an overall great team win.”

Team defense has been the biggest issue for the Trail Blazers all season. But to be fair, the team is so short-handed that consistency has been difficult to find.

“I feel really pleased with how we played,” Stotts said after the win against Washington. “We got off to a great start and held the lead. We had a lot of contributions from a lot of guys.”

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PORTLAND vs WASHINGTON
When: 2/2/2021 8:00 PM
Where:

TV: 8:00 PM
LINE: -2
PREDICTION: WASHINGTON , PORTLAND

Oddsmakers currently have the WASHINGTON listed as -2 point favorites versus the PORTLAND, while the game’s total is sitting at 240.5.

The Washington Wizards are fresh off their most electric performance of the season.

However, the Wizards still possess one of the worst records in the NBA as they look to build on some rare momentum when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.

Washington recovered from an 18-point deficit and scored 48 fourth-quarter points while ambushing the visiting Brooklyn Nets 149-146 on Sunday.

The Wizards were staring at another setback when they trailed by five with under 10 seconds left. However, Bradley Beal nailed a 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds left and Russell Westbrook hit the go-ahead trey with 4.3 seconds to go as the beleaguered team notched an improbable victory.

“This was the craziest game — one of the craziest, if not the craziest — that I’ve ever been around,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said after his team improved to 4-12. “We fought, we battled, we clawed and we gave ourselves a chance. Hopefully, this is the start of something that we’re going to be pretty proud of.”

The contest also shows the magic that the backcourt combo of Beal and Westbrook is capable of producing.

Westbrook, who recently recovered from a quadriceps injury, scored a season-high 41 points and also had 10 rebounds and eight assists. He shot 16 of 28, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

Westbrook, who was acquired from the Houston Rockets prior to the season, said he feels refreshed after his injury absence.

“I was able to take those two weeks off — obviously our team wasn’t back yet either (from a COVID-19 pause) so that definitely allowed me a little more time to be able to get healthy and be able to move and attack and have my legs underneath me and be able to play,” Westbrook said. “Now we just have to make sure we use this momentum going into the next game.”

Beal scored 37 points against the Nets — including 22 in the fourth quarter — and has scored at least 26 points in all 15 games in which he has played. He leads the NBA with a 34.9 scoring average.

Portland features the NBA’s third-leading scorer in Damian Lillard, whose average dropped to 28.9 when he scored 17 points while playing just 27 minutes Monday in the Trail Blazers’ 134-106 loss to the host Milwaukee Bucks. Lillard averaged 34 points over the previous eight contests.

Veteran Carmelo Anthony had just six points in his third straight poor outing. He averaged 5.3 points while making just 6 of 30 shots during that stretch.

Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts took exception in the postgame press conference when a reporter referred to Anthony’s troubles as a “massive slump.”

“I wouldn’t call it a massive shooting slump,” Stotts said. “He’s had a couple of poor shooting games. Melo has earned the right to play through a shooting slump.”

While the 36-year-old Anthony is struggling, 20-year-old Nassir Little had the best game of his two-year career against Milwaukee.

Little received 30 minutes of playing time in the blowout and scored a career-high 30 points. He knocked down 11 of 18 shots, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range.

“He was a bright spot for sure,” Stotts said of Little. “It was good to see him go out there and put the ball in the basket and get some extended run.”

Portland experienced repeated issues on defense as Milwaukee shot 55.2 percent from the field and canned 21 of 42 3-point attempts.

It marked the fourth time in the past six games that Portland allowed more than 120 points. Stotts said the loss of big man Jusuf Nurkic (fractured wrist) has been a major factor.

The Trail Blazers have won their past three meetings with the Wizards.

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PORTLAND vs MILWAUKEE
When: 2/1/2021 8:00 PM
Where:

TV: 8:00 PM
LINE: -10
PREDICTION: MILWAUKEE , PORTLAND

Oddsmakers currently have the MILWAUKEE listed as -10 point favorites versus the PORTLAND, while the game’s total is sitting at 235.

The Milwaukee Bucks attempt to break out their sudden slumber when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night.

The Bucks have dropped two straight games and four of their last six. Their defense has been missing in action the past two games and now must prevent Portland star Damian Lillard from causing too much damage.

Milwaukee gave up 21 3-pointers in each contest as it fell 131-126 at the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday and 126-114 at the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday. The points allowed against New Orleans matched a season worst that occurred in a 131-118 home loss to the Utah Jazz on Jan. 8.

Lillard is likely salivating over his chance to face the Bucks after scoring a season-high 44 points in Saturday’s 123-122 road win over the Chicago Bulls. He drained a season-best eight 3-pointers, including the game winner as time expired.

Not surprisingly, Milwaukee’s two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is calling on his teammates to clamp down on the perimeter.

“Have pride, keep your man in front of you, don’t allow them to have easy looks,” Antetokounmpo said after the loss to Charlotte. “Don’t allow them to get easily to the free-throw line. Rebound the ball. Make sure when we miss or make shots, you got to box out.

“The little things add up in 48 minutes and then you’ll have the result of being good on defense.”

Antetokounmpo had 34 points, matched his season best of 18 rebounds and recorded nine assists in the setback. After the contest, he was dealing with a sore knee after bumping into Charlotte’s Miles Bridges with approximately seven minutes remaining.

“I think he kind of just knocked knees, so knee-to-knee,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “He was obviously able to play. We’ll see how he feels, see how sore he is and hope for the best”

Milwaukee will be aiming to add to its recent success against the Trail Blazers that includes victories in three straight meetings and seven of the past eight.

Lillard will be doing his best to torment the Bucks after reaching the 40-point mark for the second time this season. He is averaging 34 points over the past eight games.

Lillard hit a 37-foot, 3-pointer with 8.9 seconds left against the Bulls in addition to the game-winner as Portland overcame a five-point deficit with 11.5 seconds left.

Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts said Lillard refuses to lose.

“I know what Dame is going to give you,” Stotts said. “He’s going to give his effort. He never quits. No matter how far we are down he always believes we have a chance to win, and that attitude, that confidence is infectious.”

The victory felt like a big one to Lillard as the club lost starters CJ McCollum (foot) and Jusuf Nurkic (wrist) earlier this month and Portland is still adjusting to their absences.

“We’ve had some tough losses lately,” Lillard said. “We’ve been dealing with injuries and a lot of tough situations for our team, but we’ve been able to battle and stay together.

“We haven’t made excuses. We haven’t felt bad for ourselves. Each guy that has been put into the rotation that wasn’t in the rotation before has stepped up and been ready to play. And without those guys being prepared and having the mentality that they’ve had, we wouldn’t be in the position for a game-winner to happen or to win any of these games.”

One of those players is Gary Trent Jr., who is averaging 21 points over the past three games while going 15 of 32 from 3-point range. Trent scored 18 against the Bulls.

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PORTLAND vs CHICAGO
When: 1/30/2021 8:00 PM
Where:

TV: 8:00 PM
LINE: -2
PREDICTION: CHICAGO , PORTLAND

Oddsmakers currently have the CHICAGO listed as -2 point favorites versus the PORTLAND, while the game’s total is sitting at 233.5.

The Portland Trail Blazers and host Chicago Bulls each will look to avoid a three-game losing streak when they tip off Saturday night.

Portland and Chicago each have dropped back-to-back games, although both of the Blazers’ losses have come by single digits and both of the Bulls’ losses have come by double digits. This will mark the first meeting between the teams in Chicago since Nov. 25, 2019.

The Blazers will be short-handed. Forward Derrick Jones Jr. (foot sprain) is out, and joins guard CJ McCollum (midfoot sprain) and center Jusuf Nurkic (broken wrist) in missing Thursday’s game. Forward Robert Covington (concussion) is questionable.

The absences have forced teammates such as Anfernee Simons to play a larger role. Simons has responded well, averaging 18.7 points and 4.3 rebounds over his past three games.

“I think from an offensive standpoint, he’s certainly comfortable taking shots, running the offense,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said of Simons. “With CJ out, he knows that there’s more responsibility, and he accepted that responsibility.”

Damian Lillard led the Blazers with 30 points and nine assists in their most recent game, a 104-101 loss against Houston. Lillard is averaging 28.8 points and 7.1 assists on the season.

In 16 career games against the Bulls, Lillard has averaged 21.0 points and 6.8 assists.

Meanwhile, the Bulls are coming off back-to-back losses against the Los Angeles Lakers last Saturday and the Boston Celtics on Monday, but they have not played since then. The team had a longer-than-expected break because of COVID-19 concerns involving the Memphis Grizzlies, whom they were supposed to face on the road Wednesday before the game was postponed.

Bulls guard Tomas Satoransky said the extended break could prove beneficial.

“Obviously, we want to play games,” Satoransky said. “Nobody likes when games are postponed, but personally for me, it was really good just to have a couple of good practices. On Wednesday, we basically played the whole practice.

“That helps you with stamina. That helps with your rhythm. My conditioning got much better, and you get that feel back. So I’m glad that I could work with the team like that for a couple of days. You don’t have that many moments during the season.”

This is the second meeting between the teams this season. In their first matchup Jan. 5 in Portland, second-year guard Coby White scored a team-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Bulls to a 111-108 win. Otto Porter Jr. added 19 points and 13 boards.

McCollum, now injured, had 26 points to lead the Blazers. Lillard tallied 24 points and nine assists.

This will be the Bulls’ fourth straight game without Wendell Carter Jr., who is sidelined for at least the next several weeks because of a severe right quadriceps contusion. Daniel Gafford has earned more playing time in Carter’s place, but he is hoping for a better performance against Portland.

The second-year big man has started the past three games, averaging only 3.7 points and 3.3 rebounds.

“The past couple of games, I’ve been a bit stuck in the mud, really,” Gafford said. “I’m working on getting out of that funk right now. It’s a little bit of a bump that I’m trying to get over.”

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NEW YORK vs PORTLAND
When: 1/24/2021 10:00 PM
Where:

TV: 10:00 PM
LINE: -4
PREDICTION: PORTLAND , NEW YORK

Oddsmakers currently have the PORTLAND listed as -4 point favorites versus the NEW YORK, while the game’s total is sitting at 214.

The Portland Trail Blazers received an unexpected but welcome break this week, and figure to be fresh and rejuvenated Sunday night when they host the New York Knicks.

Portland’s scheduled games on Wednesday and Friday against Memphis were postponed due to COVID-19 issues for the Grizzlies. So, Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts saw an opening to refine some things in practice and tinker with player rotations.

It was certainly well-timed after recent injuries to shooting guard CJ McCollum (foot) and big man Jusuf Nurkic (wrist).

“Between getting extra rest and extra reps, the practices have been good for us,” Stotts said. “It helped. There is no question that having extra time to work on things on both ends — we need to adjust. Different guys will have different roles. From that standpoint, missing these two games was good for us.”

Though five-time All-Star Damian Lillard (team-best 28.1 scoring average) remains Portland’s main man, the injury to McCollum is a major blow.

The 29-year-old had stepped up his game this season and was off to a superb start. He was averaging a career-high 26.7 points in 13 games before sustaining the hairline fracture in his left foot against the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 16.

Seldom-used Rodney Hood will be asked to soften the loss of McCollum. Things went well on Monday against the San Antonio Spurs when Hood scored a season-best 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting in 25 minutes.

Hood figures to stay in the starting five as Stotts would prefer to continue bringing sharpshooter Gary Trent Jr. off the bench.

That is definitely appealing to Hood, who is hoping to find his rhythm after scoring just 18 points all season prior to Monday.

“I feel like I got off to a better flow, just being in the game,” Hood said. “Sometimes when you come off the bench, you never know when you coming in.

“I just had a good flow coming in,” he continued. “(Lillard) was trying to get me going real early, coaches trying to get me going real early because they know down the long stretch of the season, I’m gonna need to be back to myself. So (Monday) was a good start for me.”

New York is 1-1 during a four-game road excursion that continues through Tuesday against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.

The Knicks posted a 119-104 win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday before falling 103-94 to the Sacramento Kings the following night.

New York scored just 40 second-half points in the loss to Sacramento. The Knicks moved within two points with 4:30 to play before the Kings put the game away with an 11-2 burst.

The disappearing act down the stretch left coach Tom Thibodeau in a sour mood.

“Obviously we didn’t finish well,” Thibodeau said. “I did like the fight in the fourth quarter to come back, but we didn’t close it out. It’s hard to win on the road if you’re not doing all the little things. The games keep coming. We have to improve.”

Julius Randle contributed 26 points and 15 rebounds in his latest solid performance. The 26-year-old has registered four consecutive double-doubles and is averaging 20.8 points and 15.3 rebounds during the stretch.

Randle was miffed with the loss to the Kings, which followed a three-game winning streak.

“This was a weird, weird game for us,” Randle said. “We started off slow, worked our way out of it and was up at the half. The third and fourth quarter was a little bit of a funk. I don’t even know what happened. The ball stuck a little bit.”

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SAN ANTONIO vs PORTLAND
When: 1/18/2021 3:00 PM
Where:

TV: 3:00 PM
LINE: -1
PREDICTION: PORTLAND , SAN ANTONIO

Oddsmakers currently have the PORTLAND listed as -1 point favorites versus the SAN ANTONIO, while the game’s total is sitting at 226.

The Portland Trail Blazers have won five of their last six and will look to stay hot when they host the San Antonio Spurs on Monday afternoon.

Both teams won Saturday. The Trail Blazers relied on Damian Lillard’s 36 points and stout second-half defense to outlast Atlanta 112-106, while the Spurs came back from a double-digit first-half deficit to beat short-handed Houston 103-91.

Portland was forced to mount its own comeback against the Hawks without CJ McCollum, who scored 16 first-half points but did not play in the second half due to a sprained left foot. The Blazers limited Atlanta to 20 points in each of the final two quarters and roared back after trailing by seven at halftime.

“We should be proud of ourselves and the effort that we had in the second half,” Lillard said. “We know that first half wasn’t good enough. This was a game we had to have.”

Enes Kanter had 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Blazers. Gary Trent Jr. added 18 points, Carmelo Anthony hit for 11 off the bench, Derrick Jones Jr. scored 10 and Robert Covington had 10 rebounds for Portland.

“Our team defense in the second half really stood out,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said after the win.

Stotts said after the game that McCollum underwent an MRI and that his injury was just a sprain. He will be a game-time decision Monday.

McCollum’s injury comes after center Jusuf Nurkic broke his right wrist Thursday night during a loss to Indiana at home. Nurkic will be sidelined for at least eight weeks after undergoing surgery.

The Spurs rebounded from a loss Thursday to Houston with an emphasis on defense, especially late in the game, in Saturday’s rematch. The Rockets, despite suiting up just eight players (the league-mandated minimum) were up to the task until the final five minutes.

DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points in Saturday’s win, while Jakob Poeltl and Dejounte Murray added double doubles, as the Spurs were at their best when fatigue finally got to Houston. The win snapped San Antonio’s four-game home losing streak.

“We played our best defense in the fourth quarter, which is a good idea,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We held them to 19 in that quarter, as the defense picked up and gave us a chance. We knocked down a few shots toward the end, so that’s what we’ve been used to.”

Murray had 18 points and 10 rebounds for San Antonio, with Poeltl scoring 13 and collecting 11 rebounds. Keldon Johnson and Patty Mills added 11 points each.

“We just fought hard,” Murray said. “We came in with the same game plan, but I think we started off real slow. We picked it up. The effort was there in the fourth quarter. We just stuck with it and won the game.”

The Spurs, who have won five of their past seven games, led 75-72 heading into the fourth quarter and 85-82 with 7:54 remaining before putting together a late 10-0 run to take a 100-85 lead and finish off Houston.

“We just focused in the fourth quarter, we really locked in and didn’t want them to get into the paint,” Poeltl said. “Tonight Houston was undersized and I really tried to get in there and be aggressive on the glass, try to use my size against them, and it worked out.”

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PORTLAND vs GOLDEN STATE
When: 1/3/2021 8:35 PM
Where:

TV: 8:35 PM
LINE: 5
PREDICTION: GOLDEN STATE , PORTLAND

Oddsmakers currently have the GOLDEN STATE listed as 5 point favorites versus the PORTLAND, while the game’s total is sitting at 234.5.

The Portland Trail Blazers hope to continue the visiting team’s dominance in the NBA’s new same-opponent scheduling experiment when they go for a two-game sweep over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night in San Francisco.

Oakland native Damian Lillard surpassed 15,000 career points and led a 3-point barrage Friday that led Portland to a front-running, 123-98 win in the opener of the two-game set at the Warriors’ home site.

Before the Trail Blazers and Warriors took the court for the series opener on Friday, seven such back-to-backs had taken place in the NBA this season. The road team swept the games three times, while the other four series were split.

Interestingly, Lillard was the only Portland starter who did not contribute to seven early 3-pointers that were the foundation of a 29-9 run that left the Warriors behind for good.

CJ McCollum had four early 3-pointers as part of a 28-point night, but it was Lillard who wound up stealing the show. His 21st of 34 points allowed him to become the second Trail Blazer ever to reach the 15,000 milestone, joining Clyde Drexler in that accomplishment.

Afterward, Lillard seemed more focused on his next point rather than his first 15,013.

“Fifteen thousand is a huge accomplishment, something that I’m proud of,” he noted, “but my work is far from done.”

Blowout losses already are nothing new to the Warriors this season. They began the season with 26- and 39-point shellackings at Brooklyn and Milwaukee, respectively.

The loss to Portland (3-2) continued a trend in which the Warriors (2-3) have won when they’ve forced opponents into mistakes. They had a total of 25 steals in their wins at Chicago and Detroit, and have totaled just 15 (including four against the Trail Blazers) in their three losses.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr found nothing comforting in the one-sided defeat.

“They played a great game and we played a very poor game,” he said. “The start of the game was very disappointing. We just didn’t have much energy and they came out smoking hot. I didn’t like our overall engagement or our mentality.”

The win was Portland’s third straight over Golden State in a matchup of teams that have met in the postseason in three of the last five years.

On those occasions, the clubs squared off in consecutive games at the same site six times (three at Golden State, three at Portland). The Warriors lost just one of those 12 games.

Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 26 points, extending his franchise record for consecutive free throws made to 76 by making all four of his attempts.

He shot 4-for-12 on 3-pointers, making more than the rest of the team combined (3-for-23).

Warriors newcomer Kelly Oubre Jr. continued his nightmarish start from long distance, missing all four of his 3-point attempts. He’s now 1-for-25 for the season, becoming the first player in NBA history to attempt at least 25 three in the first five games of a season and making fewer than three.

Getting six 3-pointers from Lillard, four from McCollum and three apiece from Carmelo Anthony and Anfernee Simons, Portland outgunned Golden State 60-21 from beyond the arc.

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PORTLAND vs GOLDEN STATE
When: 1/1/2021 10:30 PM
Where:

TV: 10:30 PM
LINE: 3.5
PREDICTION: GOLDEN STATE , PORTLAND

Oddsmakers currently have the GOLDEN STATE listed as 3.5 point favorites versus the PORTLAND, while the game’s total is sitting at 230.5.

The Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors get an opportunity to acquaint themselves with the NBA’s new version of a doubleheader when they meet Friday night in San Francisco.

The Western Conference clubs, who have gone head-to-head in the playoffs in three of the past five seasons, are scheduled for a rematch, also in San Francisco, Sunday.

The Warriors will become the last team in the NBA to host a home opener, having started with blowout losses at Brooklyn and Milwaukee, followed by narrow wins at Chicago and Detroit.

Golden State was at its season-best both offensively and defensively in Tuesday’s 116-106 win at Detroit, shooting 50 percent from the field and limiting the Pistons to 38 percent.

Stephen Curry has been the driving force in the Warriors’ offensive improvement. He averaged 19.5 points and shot 4-for-20 on 3-pointers against the Nets and Bucks, games in which Golden State was held to 99 points apiece.

But Curry has found the range in his last two outings, hitting 10 of his 24 3s while posting a 33.5 scoring average, helping the Warriors put up 129 points against the Bulls and 116 against the Pistons.

Now Golden State expects to get defensive ace Draymond Green on the court for the first time after he missed the first four games following a positive coronavirus test and a subsequent strained right foot.

All told, Golden State coach Steve Kerr is happy where his team sits.

“I think coming into this trip, when the season schedule came out, we all looked at it and we all thought if we could go 2-2, that’d be a really successful trip,” he said after the win in Detroit. “Especially given the length of our offseason and everything going on with our team: Draymond being out, Draymond missing camp, all that.

“So I think we all feel great. We’re excited to get home. And our confidence level should be rising because we’re starting to see the type of team that we should be.”

The Trail Blazers got a veteran forward back from COVID-19 issues when Carmelo Anthony made his season debut in Wednesday’s 128-105 road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Anthony was the team’s top scorer off the bench with 15 points in 25 minutes.

Portland has opened 2-2 against a tough schedule that has featured all Western Conference playoff teams from last season. They had won in Los Angeles 115-107 against the Lakers two nights before falling to the Clippers.

Now the Trail Blazers embark on a five-game stretch in which they won’t see a 2020 playoff club.

“We’ve won some close games, we’ve got blown out,” guard CJ McCollum said. “But at the end of the day, we’re 2-2 (a week) into the season. So there’s a lot of time left to kind of figure things out. We have two games left on this road trip, so we have to take care of business.”

Interestingly, Friday’s game features the current record-holder for points scored in the 1-year-old Chase Center in San Francisco, and it isn’t Curry.

Portland’s Damian Lillard, an Oakland native, poured in an arena-record 39 last November in a 127-118 loss.

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