Pelicans 93 - 99 Trail Blazers
Final
  for this game

Blazers shoot for rare season sweep of Hornets

Mar 29, 2012 - 2:40 PM (Sports Network) - The Portland Trail Blazers will shoot for their first season sweep of New Orleans in nearly a decade when the two clubs square off in Rip City.

The Blazers, who are at the bottom of the Northwest Division, are 3 1/2 games off the final playoff spot in the Western Conference after a 109-95 setback to West-leading Oklahoma City on Tuesday in Portland.

J.J. Hickson paced the Trail Blazers with 21 points while LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 20 to go along with eight rebounds in that one, the Blazers' fourth loss in six games.

Wesley Matthews finished with 17 points for Portland, which was without point guard Raymond Felton, who was away from the team tending to his mother while she underwent a heart procedure.

"It was more us than them. We gave them easy looks," said Aldridge. "We didn't make things as difficult as we could have."

Portland, which is now 3-4 under interim coach Kaleb Canales, who replaced the fired Nate McMillan earlier this month, hopes to have Felton back in the lineup tonight.

New Orleans, meanwhile, improved to 1-1 on a five-game western swing with a solid 102-87 win in Oakland on Wednesday.

Marco Belinelli was one of three Hornets to tally 20-plus points, finishing with 22 in that one. Carl Landry and Jarrett Jack poured in 20 points apiece for New Orleans, which had lost three of four coming into the game. Jack added nine assists and Landry pulled down eight rebounds.

The Hornets also expect to have high-scoring guard Eric Gordon back in the lineup sometime during this trip. Gordon underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Feb. 14 to remove cartilage and other debris and has been increasing the intensity of his workouts in recent weeks.

"I've been working out hard, like I wasn't injured," Gordon told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "At this point, it's almost to the point where I should be getting back to play very soon."

The Blazers have already topped the Hornets three times in 2011-12 and are looking to sweep the season series from New Orleans for the first time since 2002-03.






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