Portland Trail Blazers at Phoenix Suns
Friday, 1/14/10, 10:30 PM EDT, TV: ESPN
Portland has played 22 of its 39 games away from the Rose Garden and many players are starting to suggest its taking its toll on the club. “We’ve been on the road a lot,” said forward LaMarcus Aldridge. “We’ve been home a couple of games, but guys are still tired, bodies are still hurt. We have to suck it up and bounce back against Phoenix.” The Blazers will have the advantage of playing tonight’s game after having a couple of days to recharge after a 100-86 loss to New York on Tuesday. The team managed to shooting just .349 from the field and had a season-low eight assists. Portland is 18-18 ATS on the season and currently an underdog on the NBA lines page.
The Trail Blazers have won seven of the past eight regular season meetings with the Suns and have already clinched a win in the series by holding a 3-0 series lead against them in the 2010-11 campaign. The most recent contest also took place in Phoenix, a 101-94 Portland win that saw them lead by as many as 17 points. Portland has won the last seven games against Phoenix when scoring at least 100 points, including all three match-ups this year. Fast break points has also been a key factor in this series, with the Blazers owning a 33-22 advantage in the category in the three meetings this season.
Phoenix is struggling to stop opponents and giving up a league-high 108.9 points per game and 115.5 over the last four. The Suns did come away with a 118-109 overtime victory over the Nets last time out by rallying from 15 points down in the fourth quarter. “It’s the type of game, especially after Tuesday night, that we needed to find a way to win and that’s exactly what we did,” said point guard Steve Nash. “We didn’t play great, we showed a lot of toughness and coach implored us to compete.” Nash was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line and helped the team move its record to 16-2 all-time at US Airways Center against the Nets. Phoenix is 3-10 ATS when revenging a loss versus an opponent.
The Suns will be meeting the Blazers for the fourth and final time on Friday night and looking to avoid a four-game series sweep. Phoenix was last swept in the series in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 campaign. The squad is 9-2 against the Blazers at tonight’s venue since Nash returned to the Suns. With a win in tonight’s game, Phoenix would win consecutive games for the first time since December 2-5, as the team is 2-4 in the month of January and dropped 12 of its last 17 games overall.
Bettors will likely back the Trail Blazers due to their 9-4-1 ATS mark in the last 14 meetings, while the Suns are 2-7-1 ATS at home.
