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Blazers close out trip against Detroit

Jan 21, 2012 - 4:10 PM (Sports Network) - The Portland Trail Blazers probably can't wait to get back to Rip City and will put the finishing touches on what has been a rough six- game road trip tonight against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace.

The Blazers are 2-3 so far on the trek and won for only the second time in six tries with Friday's 94-84 triumph at Toronto. LaMarcus ALdridge powered his way to 33 points and 23 rebounds, while Raymond Felton and Jamal Crawford finished with 14 and 10 points, respectively, for Portland, which is just 3-5 outside the Rose Garden this season.

Gerald Wallace had eight points and 10 rebounds, and Marcus Camby grabbed 10 boards in a winning effort. Blazers head coach Nate McMillan was impressed with Aldridge's performance after the game.

"He was a monster in the paint and on the boards tonight," McMillan said. "He has the ability to average a double-double a game. 23 is a big number. Tonight he just made up his mind of going to the boards."

Aldridge became the seventh player in Portland franchise history to record a 30-20 game. Former Blazer and current Memphis big man Zach Randolph last accomplished the feat with 31 points and 20 rebounds against the Grizzlies on April 11, 2003. Aldridge leads the team in scoring (23.2), minutes (38.0) and rebounds (9.1), and has reached double digits in points in every game.

Portland will head home for back-to-back games versus the Kings and Grizzlies following tonight's test against the Pistons.

Detroit has struggled all season as evidenced by its 3-13 record and hopes to stop a four-game losing streak tonight.

The Pistons lost for the 10th time in 11 tries with Friday's 98-81 loss versus Memphis and received 10 points and 13 rebounds from second-year forward Greg Monroe. Brandon Knight scored 22 points and Tayshaun Prince ended with 14 after scoring 20 or more points in three straight games.

"Losing sucks," Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said. "It's misery."

The Pistons lost their fifth straight home game for the first time since March 16-April 2, 2010 and are 2-6 at The Palace this season. They are in the midst of playing four of five games at home and will visit Oklahoma City on Monday.

Will Bynum (foot) and Rodney Stuckey (groin) both missed the Memphis game and could be out again tonight.

Detroit lost both meetings with Portland last season and is winless in the past six matchups between the teams. The Blazers have won three in a row and 10 of their last 13 games as the visitor in this series. Ben Gordon averaged 13.0 points and Prince averaged 12.0 points in two games against the Trail Blazers last season. Aldridge averaged a double-double with 27.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in last year's set with Detroit.

With a win this evening, the Blazers will have won seven straight games against Detroit, matching the franchise record for consecutive wins against the Pistons (1979-1982).