Thanks to the continued success of All-Star Brandon Roy and a strong year from Steve Blake, guard play has been one of the Portland Trail Blazers' strengths all season.
With both players struggling in the team's last game, however, Portland's road woes continued.Roy and Blake look to bounce back from sub-par outings and help the Blazers snap a season-high five-game road losing streak Friday night when they meet the Northwest Division-rival Minnesota Timberwolves in the finale of a three-game swing.
In his third season, Roy is averaging 22.6 points, shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from 3-point range - all career highs. Blake, meanwhile, is averaging a personal best with 10.8 points per game, helping the Blazers (35-22) to the fifth-best record in the Western Conference.
Neither player, however, was at his best in Wednesday's 99-84 loss at San Antonio. Roy was 5-for-18 from the field and finished with 14 points, and Blake was held scoreless while going 0-for-9.
"I didn't play very well tonight," Roy said. "I was missing so many shots and I just needed to knock them down. Blake and I needed to knock down our shots even if there is pressure on us. It is hard to win a game when your two starting guards aren't hitting their shots."
The Blazers' backcourt also struggled defensively, allowing Spurs' point guard Tony Parker to score 39 points and shoot 17-for-27.
One of the league's best home teams with a 23-5 record at the Rose Garden, the Blazers are 12-17 outside Portland.
They hope to snap their road skid against a Timberwolves team they've dominated lately. The Blazers have won 10 of 12, including six straight and three in a row at the Target Center.
In the teams' first meeting in Minneapolis this season, Roy had 24 points and six assists and Blake added 10 and four to lead Portland to an 88-83 victory Nov. 15.
Al Jefferson was the only Minnesota player with more than 10 points in that game, finishing with 26. Jefferson, though, is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL suffered Feb. 8. The Wolves (18-39) have dropped six of seven without their leading scorer and rebounder.
Rookie Kevin Love, who has replaced Jefferson as Minnesota's starting center, had a season-high 24 points and a season high-tying 15 rebounds Wednesday, but it wasn't enough in a 120-103 loss to Utah.
The Wolves, who had an early 12-point lead, gave up 37 in the fourth quarter en route to their seventh straight home loss. They've allowed more than 100 points in nine straight contests overall, going 1-8 in that stretch.
"We just have got to get better defensively," coach Kevin McHale said.
