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Lillard, Blazers to tip it off vs. Nets

Feb 26, 2014 - 3:27 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Portland Trail Blazers will carry a three-game winning streak into their home matchup Wednesday night against the Brooklyn Nets.

After a season-high three-game slide, the Blazers have taken three in a row, all over fellow Northwest Division foes - the Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets.

The win over the Nuggets came on Tuesday night, a 100-95 decision at the Pepsi Center.

Damian Lillard flirted with a triple-double, posting a game-high 31 points to go with nine assists and seven rebounds for the Blazers. Lillard joined Kevin Durant and LeBron James as only NBA players with four straight games of 28- plus points and 5-plus assists this season and he became the first Blazer since Clyde Drexler in 1992 to have four straight of 25-plus points and five- plus assists.

"We got up on them and they turned it around, they picked up their energy," said Lillard. "The game was going our way because we were executing, flying around, getting stops, (but) we kind of relaxed."

Portland took a 13-point lead into the fourth quarter, which Denver won by eight.

Nicolas Batum added 16 points, Mo Williams had 14 and Robin Lopez scored 12 points to go with 10 rebounds and seven blocks for the Trail Blazers.

Portland will open a four-game homestand on Wednesday with visits from the Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers and Atlanta Hawks to follow. The Blazers then hit the road for a five-game trip through the south.

The Nets know all about the road. They are on game five of a seven-game road trip and are 2-2 on the sojourn. The Nets have stops in Denver and Milwaukee after Wednesday's trip to the great northwest.

On Sunday, the Nets made history when they signed Jason Collins to a 10-day contract. Collins became the first openly gay professional athlete in one of the four major North American sports leagues.

Collins went scoreless in 10-plus minutes of Brooklyn's 108-102 victory over the Lakers.

"It felt fun. It feels good to get back out there on the court and help my teammates," said Collins, who had not played since Apr. 17, 2013. "As far as timing, it's going to take a few practices."

Deron Williams finished with 30 points, seven assists and six steals and the Nets ended their 11-game losing streak to the Lakers with a wire-to-wire victory.

Paul Pierce made four of Brooklyn's 12 3-pointers and netted 25 points as the Nets bounced back from Saturday's loss to the Warriors and picked up their first win over L.A. since Nov. 25, 2007.

The Blazers beat the Nets in Brooklyn on Nov. 18 and are 8-2 in their last 10 as the host in this series.