The Trail Blazers finish off a nice stretch of home games with a Friday date against New Jersey before hitting the road.
"We need to win this game before we go on a five-game road trip," Portland guard Brandon Roy said. "We have to be ready to play." The Nets (28-36) are led by the backcourt duo of Devin Harris and Vince Carter. Harris, who scored 23 points in a 105-99 loss to the Blazers on Jan. 15, had 31 points and 12 assists in a loss at Golden State Wednesday night.
"They're the guys who make their team go," Roy said. "We need to load up on them. If we slow them down, it'll give us a better chance to win."
MAVERICKS 93, BLAZERS 89: Dallas completed a 3-0 series sweep of Portland and ended the Blazers' 12-game home win streak.
"I didn't think about the streak," said LaMarcus Aldridge, who led the Blazers with 23 points and 11 rebounds. "We were just trying to take care of home court and position ourselves in the standings. That's what hurts most."
Portland has beaten every opponent but Cleveland and Dallas at least once this season. The Blazers are 0-2 against Dallas at the Garden, 27-4 against the rest of the league.
"I wouldn't necessarily say we have their number," said Dallas guard Jason Terry, who came off the bench for 24 points, five rebounds and four assists. "We just match up well against them ... there are some teams you just match up against, and ... we are just one of those teams for Portland."
