The Portland Trail Blazers are set to have their recent resurgence extensively tested when they welcome the Oklahoma City Thunder to Moda Center on Monday.
Meanwhile, the visitors will head to Oregon aiming to avoid consecutive defeats for the first time since November 20 off the back of a rare loss last time out.
Match preview
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The Portland Trail Blazers drew the curtain on their three-game road trip with a hard-fought 102-97 triumph over the Charlotte Hornets when the teams went head-to-head at the Spectrum Center on Saturday.
Chauncey Billups's men recovered from an eight-point first-quarter deficit in style as they went on to win the remaining three quarters, thanks in no small part to Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant, who combined for 49 points.
Eclipsing their run of three consecutive wins between November 13 and 18, the Trail Blazers are currently on their longest winning streak of the season and continue to slowly eat up the gap on the teams currently in playoff contention.
A test against the Oklahoma City Thunder certainly poses a stern test for the Blazers off the back of 13 straight defeats in this fixture since February 2022, highlighting the size of the task at hand on Monday.
Monday's affair kicks off a seven-game homestretch for the hosts, which includes tricky assignments against the Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers and a resurgent Sacramento Kings outfit.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder came away empty-handed against the Dallas Mavericks for the second time in the space of just under a week as the teams locked horns at the PayCom Center on Friday.
A tight affair saw Mark Daigneault's men go into the locker room with a narrow two-point advantage, which quickly turned into an eight-point deficit at the end of the third quarter, and despite a late surge, they were unable to recover in the final 12 minutes.
Following his career-high 54 points against the Utah Jazz, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put on another masterful attacking display as he tallied 31 points but was two points shy of his team's leading scorer on the day, Jalen Williams.
Despite falling to a 36-8 record, the Thunder are still well clear at the summit of the Western Conference standings and are on course to claim the division's number one seed for the second consecutive season.
Off the back of a first home defeat since November last time out, Monday's visitors are on the road for their next two outings against the Blazers and the Golden State Warriors before returning to their home court for a four-game home stretch at the start of February.
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Team News
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Trail Blazers' Matisse Thybulle is closing in on returning to action from an ankle problem, but Monday's game is expected to come too soon for the Australian.
Centers Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams III are currently dealing with knee and hand injuries respectively, although the former could be back in time to feature here.
Ousmane Dieng and Isaiah Joe missed the Thunder's defeat to the Mavericks last time through illness, and both men remain huge doubts for the trip to Oregon.
Cason Wallace came off injured in the fourth quarter of the aforementioned game and could also miss out, while Chet Holmgren (hip), Ajay Mitchell (toe) and Nikola Topic (knee) are guaranteed absentees.
Twenty-six-year-old Isaiah Hartenstein is still battling with a calf problem which should see Jaylin Williams retain his place in the visitors' starting lineup.
Portland Trail Blazers possible starting five:
Simons, Grant; Camara, Avdija; Ayton
Oklahoma City Thunder possible starting five:
Gilgeous-Alexander, Wiggins; Dort, J Williams; J Williams
We say: Thunder to win by 8+ points
Despite a bump in the road last time out, the Thunder will back themselves to see off the Blazers and continue their already established dominance in this fixture.
We fully expect the away side to cruise to a routine win at the sound of the final buzzer.
Adepoju Marvellous
