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Wizards open five-game road swing at Blazers

Mar 25, 2008 - 1:41 PM Washington (36-33) at Portland (37-34) 10:00 pm EDT

PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) - Caron Bulter and the Washington Wizards will get to see how battle-tested they are when they head out to the West Coast.

Butler looks to guide the Wizards to their fourth straight win on Tuesday in the opener of a five-game road swing against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Since Butler returned from a hip flexor injury, Washington has captured five of its last six games to close within three games of the Cleveland Cavaliers for fourth place in the East.

Most recently, Antawn Jamison scored 24 points and Butler added 17 for Washington in a 95-83 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.

"When we play good teams, we step up," Wizards reserve DeShawn Stevenson said. "That says a lot. When the playoffs come, we're going to have to play a good team like that."

Portland hopes to bounce back after suffering a 97-84 setback to the Seattle SuperSonics on Monday at Key Arena. Martell Webster carried the load with 22 points.

Blazers All-Star Brandon Roy also is looking to rebound following his 11-point performance in Monday's loss.

Washington is just 15-18 on the road, while Portland owns an impressive 24-10 record at the Rose Garden.