• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Pacers-Trail Blazers Preview

Mar 4, 2010 - 7:54 PM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Indiana (20-41) at Portland (37-27), 10:00 p.m. EDT

The Portland Trail Blazers are enjoying their best scoring stretch in 12 years. A matchup with the Indiana Pacers doesn't figure to slow them down.

Coming off a successful road trip, the Blazers face the struggling Pacers and their porous defense Wednesday night.

Portland (36-27) has scored more than 100 points in five straight games for the first time since a six-game run from Feb. 4-17, 1998. Though the Blazers played an overtime game during their current streak, losing 115-111 to Chicago on Saturday night, they had already reached triple digits by the end of regulation.

That was the only defeat Portland suffered during a five-game trip, averaging 105.4 points. Now the Blazers look to earn their second consecutive season series sweep of the Pacers (20-40).

Portland beat Indiana 102-91 on Dec. 9, its third straight win in the series after losing the previous nine. That game is one of 40 in which the Pacers have allowed at least 100 points this season.

Indiana ranks 24th in the league in scoring defense, surrendering 104.3 points a contest. The Pacers have been even worse on the road, giving up an average of 107.3 points, and they had one of their worst performances of the season in losing 122-99 to the Los Angles Lakers on Tuesday night.

Blazers All-Star guard Brandon Roy should be able to take advantage. He had 25 points, seven rebounds and three steals in a 103-99 win over Memphis on Monday night, helping Portland solidify its hold on eighth place in the Western Conference.

Roy had 29 points in the Blazers' first matchup with Indiana this season.

Portland has been getting unexpectedly strong play from Nicolas Batum, who missed the first three months of the season with a shoulder injury. The second-year forward has started the last five games, following up a career-high 31 point performance in a 110-91 win over Minnesota on Saturday night with 21 versus the Grizzlies.

With long arms, Batum has developed into one of Portland's better defensive players. He'll face a tough test, though, against Pacers star Danny Granger, who averaged 26.6 points in seven games before being held to nine on 2-of-9 shooting versus the Lakers.

Troy Murphy had 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Pacers, who made some roster adjustments prior to the game.

Solomon Jones will be back after being suspended for one game due to conduct detrimental to the team. Indiana provided no additional details.

The 6-foot-10 forward hasn't had much of an impact after signing as a free agent during the offseason, playing in 40 games, starting two, while averaging 4.1 points and 2.8 rebounds.

Point guard Travis Diener was limited to four games with the Pacers this season due to a toe injury before being waived Monday. Diener, who was in his third season with Indiana, had surgery in late September.

The Pacers have been weak at point guard, starting veteran Earl Watson. Though he's been solid as a playmaker with 15 assists over his last two games, he has been held to five points in those contests.