Portland @ Miami preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 19, 2017 ) Portland 115, Miami 104

A pair of .500 teams trending in opposite directions meet Wednesday in Miami with the Portland Trail Blazers looking to snap a five-game slide against the Heat. The Blazers won three straight and five of six prior to the losing streak, which was extended with a 111-104 loss at Golden State on Monday in the opener of a five-game road trip.

There was frustration for Portland after it fell behind by 13 points at halftime against a Warriors team playing without three starters. "In a game like tonight when you have Steph (Curry) out, Draymond (Green) out, we have to understand that other guys are going to come in and be aggressive and try to take advantage of their opportunities," guard Damian Lillard told reporters after the loss. The Heat followed up a win over Brooklyn in Mexico City with a 25-point victory at Memphis on Monday. They shot 56.1 percent overall and outscored the Grizzlies by 22 points after halftime in their most lopsided win of the season.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN Northwest (Portland), FSN Sun (Miami)

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (13-13): Lillard scored a season-high 39 points and CJ McCollum added 21 in Monday's loss, as their teammates combined to shoot 37 percent from the floor. Center Jusuf Nurkic, who has a team-high six double-doubles, missed two straight games with an ankle injury and fill-in Meyers Leonard is averaging eight points and four rebounds in his place. Portland's five straight losses have come against teams that entered Tuesday a collective 40 games above .500, but Wednesday begins a three-game stretch against opponents who are a combined 12 games below .500.

ABOUT THE HEAT (13-13): Miami also has a big hole in the middle with big man Hassan Whiteside missing the last six games with a knee injury, although his return is imminent. "A bone bruise is a bone bruise and it's all individual and they're all different," coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters in Memphis. "[Whiteside] was clearly not as mobile as he was in the beginning of the year and that's why we're taking the time now to get him healthy. He's making progress. He's doing a lot of conditioning. It will be good to see him when we get back (from the road trip)." Kelly Olynyk took the last three starts in place of Whiteside but is averaging 7.8 points on 44 percent shooting in 24.8 minutes as a starter, compared to 9.4 on 52.5 percent in 19.9 minutes as a reserve.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Heat rookie C Bam Adebayo is 23-for-32 from the field over his last seven games.

2. Miami is 1-3 at home against Western Conference teams.

3. Lillard averaged 34 points as Portland took the two meetings with Miami last season.

PREDICTION: Heat 103, Trail Blazers 101