Atlanta @ Portland preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 29, 2019 ) Portland 118, Atlanta 98

The Portland Trail Blazers seek their first home victory of the season as the Atlanta Hawks come to town Sunday, but at least Damian Lillard is putting on a show for the home fans. The Trail Blazers point guard scored a franchise-record 60 points Friday on 19-of-33 shooting from the field and a perfect 15-of-15 from the free-throw line, but didn’t get much help from his teammates in a 119-115 loss to Brooklyn that dropped Portland to 0-3 at home.

Lillard hit seven 3-pointers en route to setting his career high in points, but postgame he was more focused on his team’s inability to finish games in telling reporters, “I think we try to do the right things, that little bit of wanting it more than the other team. And wanting it more doesn’t mean playing harder, it means being able to be sharper on one more possession.” Portland now welcomes in a Hawks team that has lost five of its past six and is without one of its standout performers as forward John Collins is suspended for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. Atlanta trailed by 21 points in the second quarter Friday at home against Sacramento before rallying to within one, only to fall 121-109 as point guard Trae Young scored 22 of his 30 points in the second half. “I think we had to fight too much to get back in the game, and that’s something we’ve got to get better at,” Young told the media postgame.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Atlanta), NBCS Northwest (Portland)

ABOUT THE HAWKS (3-5): Young added 12 assists against Sacramento and began Saturday tied for fifth in the NBA in assists (8.1) and 14th in scoring (25), and has at least 25 points and nine assists in five of his first seven games. Forward Jabari Parker scored 25 points with eight rebounds Friday and the free-agent signee has helped to ease the absence of Collins by averaging 16.4 points – reaching double figures in seven of eight games – on 57 percent shooting from the field and five rebounds. Guard Kevin Huerter, who continues to recover from an offseason knee injury, scored 17 points off the bench Friday and shot 4-of-7 from 3-point range.

ABOUT THE BLAZERS (3-6): Guard C.J. McCollum suffered through a miserable shooting night against Brooklyn, misfiring on 14 of his first 16 shots en route to a 4-of-19 night and finishing with eight points. Portland lost forward Rodney Hood to back spasms in the first quarter and saw forward Skal Labissiere sprain his ankle in the fourth quarter, further depleting a frontcourt already missing Zach Collins (shoulder), Jusuf Nurkic (leg) and Pau Gasol (foot). Lillard is averaging 41.7 points on 57.1 percent shooting in home games, hitting 48.6 percent of his 3-point attempts.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Atlanta is 27th in the NBA in scoring at 103.4 points but rank 10th in points allowed at 107.

2. Portland F Nassir Little, the team’s first-round draft pick, scored eight points on 3-of-5 shooting with three rebounds in 18 minutes in his second appearance this season.

3. Sunday opens a five-game west coast road trip for the Hawks, with contests to come against Denver (6-2), Phoenix (5-3), the Clippers (6-3) and the Lakers (7-1).

PREDICTION: Trail Blazers 124, Hawks 111