(Sports Network) - Northwest Division rivals meet in Rip City on Saturday when
the Jekyll and Hyde Portland Trail Blazers entertain the well-rounded Denver
Nuggets at the Rose Garden.
The Blazers have been two different teams this season depending on where the
games are being played. Portland fell to a miserable 3-9 on the road after
Thursday's 95-92 setback at Sacramento.
Raymond Felton and Jamal Crawford both missed three-pointers for the Blazers
in the final 10 seconds of that one to seal the win for the lowly Kings.
LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 28 points and 14 rebounds for Portland, which
has lost two of three overall and four straight as the visitor. Felton
finished with 15 points and 10 assists.
"We've had every opportunity the last (couple) road games and we're finding
ways to lose it," Crawford said.
Portland is a sizzling 10-1 as the host. On the injury front for the Blazers,
forward Nicolas Batum missed his second straight game against the Kings with a
bone bruise on his left knee. He is listed as questionable for tonight
The Nuggets look to bounce back from last night's 93-89 loss to the Los
Angeles Lakers at the Pepsi Center when they invade the Rose City.
Al Harrington ended with 24 points and eight rebounds for the Nuggets, who
have lost three of four since a six-game winning streak. Andre Miller and Ty
Lawson chipped in 16 and 14 points, respectively, in a losing cause.
Harrington's three-pointer bounced off the rim in the final second.
"For an end of the game situation against a good defensive team he got a fair
release," Denver head coach George Karl said. "I wouldn't call it a great
shot. I'd like better, I would have liked to have gone quicker. I would have
liked to have gone to the rim in four or five seconds. [Derek] Fisher has been
there a lot of times. He made a good defensive play and Ty didn't give it a
second attempt. The play before that broke open very well and the last play
didn't open very well."
To make matters worse, Denver lost starting center Timofey Mozgov to a
sprained left ankle. With about 10 minutes to go in the third quarter, Mozgov
came down awkwardly on his left ankle after making a layup. He was not able to
put pressure on his left foot, but X-rays came back negative. Mozgov is
expected to sit out tonight's game.
Danilo Gallinari had six points in less than 29 minutes against the Lakers and
is questionable tonight with blurred vision in his left eye. He leads Denver
with 17.0 points per game.
After visiting the Blazers Saturday, the Nuggets, who are 8-4 as the guest,
will return to the Rocky Mountains for a three-game homestand versus the
Rockets, Mavericks and Warriors.
Portland has won two straight over Denver overall and four consecutive in Rip
City, including a 111-102 win on Dec. 29 this season.
The Sports Network