The Portland Trail Blazers are hoping for a happier and healthier note as they conclude their five-game trip on Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers.
The Trail Blazers stagger into Indianapolis following a short-handed 123-98 defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. Five regular players—Scoot Henderson, Kris Murray, Matisse Thybulle, Donovan Clingan, and Deandre Ayton—were sidelined with injuries.
Things went from bad to worse as Portland lost two starters—Jerami Grant and Robert Williams III—during Monday’s loss. Grant injured his left knee, while Williams suffered a concussion.
With the Trail Blazers playing their fifth game in eight days on the road, they could be down as many as seven players for the trip finale. Not having Grant could be the biggest blow, as he scored 34 and 37 points in the games where the Trail Blazers, who only won 21 games last year, surprisingly swept the season series from the Pacers.
The Trail Blazers did have two of their brightest prospects—Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe—playing together for just the seventh time this season against the Grizzlies. However, they could not replicate the success of their previous game against Houston, where they combined for 49 points, as they shot just 6-for-26 and totaled 20 points against the Grizzlies.
Portland will need to be at their best against the high-powered Pacers, who have scored 111 or more points in seven consecutive games, including 115 and 114 in their last two outings—wins over the Washington Wizards and New Orleans Pelicans, respectively.
After a balanced scoring effort in the victory over the Wizards, Tyrese Haliburton broke out of a recent slump with 34 points and 13 assists.
Haliburton’s performance is doubly good news for the Pacers. His 12-for-23 shooting from the field was a welcome relief after he’d shot just 32.9 percent over his previous five games.
Meanwhile, Pascal Siakam has not been slumping at all, contributing a total of 36 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists during the two-game winning streak. He made 13 of his 27 shots (48.1 percent) in those games.
The Trail Blazers haven’t faced the Pacers since the night Siakam made his Indiana debut in Portland last January, scoring 21 points.
Portland’s win that night marked their 12th of the season.
They went just 9-32 the rest of the way.
Thanks in large part to Siakam, the Pacers rebounded from that loss in Portland to finish 23-17 and reach the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Pacers haven’t swept Portland in a season series since 2008.
