After a frustrating start to the season, the Portland Trail Blazers have turned things around of late.
Now riding a three-game home winning streak, the Blazers will try to show they can be successful on the road as well.
On Wednesday night, Portland will begin an important five-game road trip against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Obviously, we’re about to go out on a monster road trip,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “But I don’t care what happens — I just want us to play right and continue to get better.”
The first four games of the trip will come against teams with winning records going into Wednesday’s action — the Thunder, two games against the Houston Rockets, and then the Memphis Grizzlies.
“We’re playing with a lot of confidence right now,” Portland forward Kris Murray said. “Guys are playing together and playing the right way. We just want to continue building upon that.”
The Blazers are 2-4 on the road this season and 6-8 overall.
“We’ve got to figure it out on the road,” forward Deni Avdija said. “I feel like we gotta do some more things together and build our chemistry and take care of our body better.”
A big piece of Portland’s recent success has been the team’s bench.
More than 43 percent of the Blazers’ scoring during their winning streak has come from their reserves, including 58 of their 114 points in Sunday’s four-point win over Atlanta.
Dalano Banton had a season-high 23 points in that victory.
Portland had not won three games in a row in more than a year prior to this stretch.
Oklahoma City, meanwhile, is coming off a 110-104 loss at San Antonio on Tuesday night, giving the Thunder back-to-back losses for the first time this season.
That game started a stretch in which the Thunder will play 11 of 14 games on the road, making it crucial to have success at home.
Oklahoma City is still adjusting to its limited size after 7-foot-1 Chet Holmgren broke his pelvis — an injury that will keep him out at least two months. Injuries have kept Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams out thus far.
One of the Thunder’s other two Williamses — Jalen — has helped pick up the slack, moving to the center role.
In five games without Holmgren, Jalen Williams is averaging 25.4 points per game and is shooting 54.8 percent from the floor.
“The list of things that guy does — and it doesn’t matter what position you put him at — all this is doing is highlighting those things and just showing that you can stress him about as far as you can possibly stress him,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said of Williams.
Wednesday’s game will be the second of four meetings between the teams this season. Oklahoma City won the first matchup 137-114 on Nov. 1 in Portland.
The Blazers hope guard Anfernee Simons can return Wednesday after he missed the past two games with an undisclosed illness. Simons, who left Portland’s Nov. 12 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves due to shortness of breath, is listed as questionable.
Center Deandre Ayton is listed as doubtful with a right finger sprain.
The Thunder could be without guard Isaiah Joe for the second consecutive game with a left calf contusion.
–Field Level Media
