Heat Continue Homestand Against Struggling Blazers
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/SportsDirect) – Two teams heading in opposite directions will meet in South Florida for a Sunday afternoon matinee.
The Portland Trail Blazers have had their offense abandon them on the first two stops of a five-game road trip.
Things won't get much easier on Sunday, when the Trail Blazers continue their trek by visiting Hassan Whiteside and the Miami Heat.
Portland shot 34.8 percent from the field in a 106-90 loss at Oklahoma City to begin the trip on Wednesday and was done in by 19 turnovers in a 102-94 setback at Orlando on Friday.
The biggest slump belongs to star point guard Damian Lillard, who is 10-of-35 from the field in those two games and turned the ball over six times against the Magic.
The Heat own one of the top scoring defenses in the league but were torched for 108 points on 51.3 percent shooting by the Toronto Raptors in a 14-point home loss on Friday.
The setback ended a three-game winning streak and a string of five straight games holding opponents under 100 points.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, CSN Northwest (Portland), FSN Sun (Miami)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (11-17): Portland scored in triple digits in seven of eight games prior to hitting the road but were outscored 52-18 in the paint in Orlando and failed to make up the difference beyond the arc (11-of-32).
"I thought we competed hard but sometimes that's not good enough," Lillard told reporters. "You make a couple of mistakes on defense, they hit a couple of shots on offense and they get a 10-point lead real quick. (Friday) we turned the ball over and they took advantage of it. They made it harder on us offensively than we made it on them."
Lillard shot under 40 percent from the field in four of the last five games.
ABOUT THE HEAT (15-10): Whiteside did his part on the defensive end with five blocks and 13 rebounds on Friday, marking the ninth time this season he recorded at least five blocks.
The 26-year-old center grabbed double-digit rebounds in each of the last five contests and is shooting 67.8 percent from the field in nine games this month.
Whiteside posted seven double-doubles in November but only has one in December – a 20-point, 13-rebound effort in a win at Brooklyn on Wednesday – and could be in for another big game against struggling Portland center Mason Plumlee.
BUZZER BEATERS
- The home team took each of the two meetings last season.
- Miami F Chris Bosh totaled 18 points on 5-of-15 shooting in the last two contests.
- Portland G C.J. McCollum is averaging 25.5 points on 20-of-37 shooting in the last two games.
