(Sports Network) - The Portland Trail Blazers started their seven-game road
trip on the wrong foot and look to bounce back Monday against the Detroit
Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
The Blazers dropped a 98-85 decision to the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday and lost
for the second time in three tries since a three-game winning streak. Wesley
Matthews recorded 20 points and J.J. Hickson had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
"They've got four All-Stars on the court and they know how to play," Portland
coach Terry Stotts said of the Nets.
The Nets outrebounded the Blazers, 61-45.
Portland did not have star forward LaMarcus Aldridge because of a stiff back
and he is questionable for Monday. Aldridge leads Portland in scoring and
ranks 13th in the league in points per game, averaging 19.7 ppg.
Hickson recorded his seventh double-double of the season for a Portland squad
that will also visit the Wizards, Celtics, Cavaliers, Bobcats and Pacers on
the current trek.
Detroit is just 3-11 on the season and winless (0-8) against teams from the
Western Conference. In fact, the Pistons have lost 12 in a row to the West
dating back to last season.
In Sunday's 121-100 road loss to the New York Knicks, Brandon Knight scored a
team-high 21 points, Charlie Villanueva netted 17 and Kyle Singler added 16
points for the Pistons, who got 12 points and seven assists from Greg Monroe.
"It's disappointing," Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said. "How many minutes of
defense did we play? I don't know, but I know it's not nearly good enough."
The Pistons made 47.4 percent of their shots and committed 20 turnovers for 33
New York points.
Detroit won the only meeting with Portland last season, a 94-91 victory at The
Palace on Jan. 21, but the Blazers have taken six of seven and eight of the
past 11 matchups between the two teams.
The Sports Network