Hornets look to get back on track vs. Blazers

After snapping a 15-game losing streak in Portland last season, the Charlotte Hornets take aim at beating the Trail Blazers again in the Rose City when the teams meet Saturday night.

On Feb. 25, 2024, Charlotte snapped the streak in Portland with a 93-80 victory.

The franchise's previous road win in the series had been on March 29, 2008, when the club was still known as the Bobcats.

There is another accomplishment to aim at -- Charlotte never has won consecutive games in Portland since entering the league prior to the 1988-89 season.

First-year coach Charles Lee is just concerned about finding victories anywhere. The Hornets are 26 games below .500 after losing 12 of their last 15 games and just 1-4 during their current stretch of nine straight road games.

Charlotte lost the first three games before the All-Star break, then resumed play with an impressive 100-97 road win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. The following night, the Hornets dropped a 129-115 decision to the host Denver Nuggets.

Miles Bridges excelled against Denver with a season-best 36 points to go with 13 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. He also matched his season-high of five 3-pointers.

"He had purpose in everything we wanted to do," Lee said. "He understands some of the matchups we wanted to attack. ... Just had composure in everything he did offensively."

Josh Green registered season-bests of 19 points and five 3-pointers.

"I'm happy everyone gets to see his offensive game on display a little bit more," Lee said. "We identified him in the offseason that we knew what he was capable of and we knew he was kind of scratching the surface."

Hornets star LaMelo Bell (ankle) is expected to make his return to the lineup after sitting out against Denver on the second half of a back-to-back. He scored 27 points against the Lakers.

Meanwhile, Portland has lost four straight games after winning 10 of its previous 11 contests.

The latest setback was Thursday's 110-102 home loss against the Lakers.

"We played hard the whole time, I didn't think our focus was great," said Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups. "But I thought we played hard, we gave ourselves a chance. We scrapped our butt off, just didn't have enough."

Deni Avdija helped the Trail Blazers get back into the game with a personal 9-0 run in the third quarter.

He finished with 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting and also had five assists.

"I think we played well in the second half," Avdija said. "The energy was up, we were playing together, we were making stops on defense and controlling the rebounds. I think that was the most important. But first half, too many second-chance points for them, too many second offensive rebounds."

Portland rookie center Donovan Clingan had just six points, six rebounds and three blocks against the Lakers. He is getting a long look as the starter with Deandre Ayton (calf) out for another three-plus weeks.

Clingan stood out in the final game before the All-Star break when he drew the start against the Denver Nuggets and recorded 17 points and a career-best 20 rebounds.

Two nights earlier, he scored a career-high 21 points against the Nuggets. Denver, of course, employs three-time league NBA Nikola Jokic.

Portland recorded a 102-97 win in Charlotte on Jan. 24 behind 27 points from Anfernee Simons and 22 from Jerami Grant. Ball and Bridges both missed the contest for the Hornets.

--Field Level Media