Philadelphia @ Portland preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 23, 2019 ) Portland 130, Philadelphia 115

The undefeated Philadelphia 76ers won't have star center Joel Embiid available when they visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday in the opener of a four-game road trip. Embiid was handed a two-game suspension by the NBA for his role in a fight with Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns in Wednesday's victory.

Embiid is always quick to embrace his role as an agitator and will now miss his chance to get to Portland center Hassan Whiteside, but he knows his teammates are there to support him. “I know they have my back," Embiid told reporters. "...That is what I love about this team. We love each other. We love playing with each other. We have our backs. It goes beyond basketball, so it is great to see, and it goes a long way." The 76ers could certainly use Embiid on the court against the Trail Blazers, who capped a 3-1 road trip with a 102-99 victory at Oklahoma City on Wednesday and are making a brief stop in Portland before going out on the road for two more. "To come out on the winning end of some close games on the road, that's a good thing," Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts told reporters after the victory in Oklahoma City. "You take wins on the road any way you can get them, all three of them could have gone either way. We haven't hit our stride yet. ... It's early in the season, everybody is kind of finding themselves out."

TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBA TV, NBCS Philadelphia, NBCS Northwest (Portland)

ABOUT THE 76ERS (4-0): Philadelphia built its roster to be bigger and more physical than other teams and the defense is proving to be disruptive in the early going. The 76ers are limiting opponents to 42.9 percent shooting and rookie forward Matisse Thybulle (3.0) and point guard Ben Simmons (2.8) rank first and second in the league in steals. "I think our effort to get back in transition, to load up, to make them score through us - I thought it was an outstanding effort for our group," power forward Al Horford told reporters after Wednesday's triumph.

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (3-2): Portland star Damian Lillard is averaging 29.2 points and 7.6 assists and knocked down three 3-pointers in as many attempts during a fourth-quarter run that lifted the team to the win on Wednesday. "Dame's threes were big, but even more so the passes he made, and the trust he had in his teammates at the end ultimately made the difference," Stotts told reporters. "He does a good job of managing the game and the game never really got out of control. ... He knew in the fourth quarter; we were going to need him." Backcourt mate CJ McCollum got off to a slow start but picked up the pace of late and is averaging 28 points over the last three contests.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Whiteside (knee) is questionable after leaving Wednesday's game early.

2. Philadelphia SG Josh Richardson (toe) sat out practice Thursday but is expected to play.

3. Portland took the two meetings last season by an average of 24.5 points.

PREDICTION: Trail Blazers 110, 76ers 103