New Orleans @ Portland preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 27, 2018 ) Portland 107, New Orleans 103

Five-time All-Star Anthony Davis has never been part of a postseason victory during his stellar career and he looks to change that fact when the New Orleans Pelicans open their Western Conference first-round series on Saturday against the host Portland Trail Blazers. The Pelicans were swept in four games by the Golden State Warriors in 2015 in Davis' lone previous playoff experience.

Sixth-seeded New Orleans won its final five games of the regular season and recorded its third-highest victory total (48) in franchise history, and the prime reason is the 25-year-old Davis, the star power forward who averaged 28.1 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots. "Even though he's younger than me and I've been in the league (three) years longer, he's someone you look up to, especially in an environment where everything is kind of ego-driven," 27-year-old guard Jrue Holiday told reporters. "There is an aura (in the NBA) of having selfishness, and him being our leader and franchise player, but not having any of that, it sets the tone." Portland features its own ego-free superstar in point guard Damian Lillard, who averaged 26.9 points during the third All-Star season of his standout career. The Trail Blazers are the third seed in the West, their best positioning since also being the No. 3 seed in 2000, when they reached the Western Conference finals before losing a seven-game series to the Los Angeles Lakers.

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, FS New Orleans, NBCS Northwest (Portland)

ABOUT THE PELICANS (48-34): Davis averaged 31.5 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots in his previous playoff experience and he is primed for another opportunity on the postseason stage as he guides a team that is mostly filled with role players. "We've got one guy who is a big dog but other than that, a lot of guys flying under the radar, who haven't been nationally exposed in a lot of games in their career," point guard Rajon Rondo told reporters of the roster. "This will be a great stage for everyone on our team." New Orleans persevered despite a season-ending injury to All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins with Holiday (career-high 19-point average) among the players who picked up the scoring slack.

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (49-33): Having homecourt advantage is big for a Portland team that won 21 of its last 24 home contests and is supremely confident inside the Moda Center. The Trail Blazers are hoping center Jusuf Nurkic will be up to the task of slowing Davis while also building on his career-best averages of 14.3 points and nine rebounds to go along with a career-high 27 double-doubles. Shooting guard CJ McCollum (21.4) is a strong scoring complement to Lillard but his second-worst outing of the season came against the Pelicans just two-plus weeks ago, when he tallied seven points on 3-of-19 shooting.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The teams split four regular-season meetings, with the most recent encounter won 107-103 by Portland on March 27 when Lillard scored 41 points and Davis tallied 36 for New Orleans.

2. Portland SF Maurice Harkless (knee surgery on March 28) will miss at least the first two games and possibly the entire series.

3. Rondo has played in 96 postseason games during his 12-year career with averages of 14.4 points and 9.1 assists.

PREDICTION: Trail Blazers 113, Pelicans 110