Portland Trail Blazers (25-18, sixth in the Western Conference) vs. Miami Heat (22-22, sixth in the Eastern Conference)
Miami; Thursday, 7:30 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Damian Lillard leads Portland into a matchup with Miami. He ranks second in the league averaging 30.1 points per game.
The Heat have gone 12-11 at home. Miami allows 107.6 points to opponents and has been outscored by 1.4 points per game.
The Trail Blazers are 11-9 on the road. Portland is the worst team in the league with 20 assists per game led by Lillard averaging 7.7.
The Heat and Trail Blazers face off Thursday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jimmy Butler is averaging 21.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.3 assists and two steals for the Heat. Tyler Herro is averaging 11.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 29.9% over the last 10 games for Miami.
Lillard is averaging 30.1 points and 7.7 assists for the Trail Blazers. Enes Kanter is shooting 65.7% and averaging 13.6 points over the last 10 games for Portland.
LAST 10 GAMES: Heat: 5-5, averaging 101.1 points, 43 rebounds, 24.2 assists, 9.2 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 43.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 102 points on 43.7% shooting.
Trail Blazers: 6-4, averaging 114.4 points, 40.7 rebounds, 19.9 assists, 6.3 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 44.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.1 points on 50.1% shooting.
INJURIES: Heat: KZ Okpala: out (health protocols), Avery Bradley: out (calf), Udonis Haslem: out (health and safety protocols), Goran Dragic: out (back).
Trail Blazers: Jusuf Nurkic: out (wrist), Zach Collins: out (ankle), Nassir Little: out (health protocols), Anfernee Simons: out (health protocols).
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