Houston Rockets (27-13, second in the Western Conference) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (13-27, 13th in the Western Conference)
Portland, Oregon; Saturday, 10 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Portland heads into the matchup with Houston after losing four straight games.
The Trail Blazers are 11-22 against Western Conference opponents. Portland ranks fifth in the NBA with 12.6 offensive rebounds per game led by Deandre Ayton averaging 2.8 offensive boards.
The Rockets are 18-9 in Western Conference play. Houston is the worst team in the Western Conference with just 22.3 assists per game led by Fred VanVleet averaging 6.1.
The Trail Blazers score 107.9 points per game, 0.1 fewer points than the 108.0 the Rockets give up. The Rockets' 44.9% shooting percentage from the field this season is 3.2 percentage points lower than the Trail Blazers have given up to their opponents (48.1%).
TOP PERFORMERS: Ayton is shooting 56.4% and averaging 13.5 points for the Trail Blazers.
Jalen Green is scoring 21.5 points per game and averaging 4.4 rebounds for the Rockets.
LAST 10 GAMES: Trail Blazers: 3-7, averaging 108.6 points, 43.1 rebounds, 24.3 assists, 7.5 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 46.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 116.7 points per game.
Rockets: 6-4, averaging 115.6 points, 43.9 rebounds, 21.9 assists, 10.3 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.5 points.
INJURIES: Trail Blazers: Matisse Thybulle: out (ankle), Deni Avdija: day to day (ankle), Donovan Clingan: out (ankke), Jerami Grant: day to day (face).
Rockets: Jock Landale: day to day (personal), Fred VanVleet: day to day (personal), Jabari Smith Jr.: out (hand).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
