Portland @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 20, 2018 ) Houston 115, Portland 111

Portland star guard Damian Lillard will sit out with a sprained left ankle when the Trail Blazers visit the Houston Rockets on Thursday. Lillard injured the ankle in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's 115-109 loss to the Dallas Mavericks and could miss multiple games.

Lillard knew the ankle was a problem after Tuesday's game and he ended up getting a ride on a cart as opposed to walking out of the arena. "I think I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but I'm going to be smart about it," Lillard told reporters after the contest. "It's the end of the season, we are going into the playoffs, so I have to be smart that one thing doesn't turn into another." Lillard averaged 28 points and 6.7 assists in three games this season against the Rockets, who won the three meetings while scoring an average of 120 points. Houston is coming off a stellar 120-104 victory over the Washington Wizards as MVP candidate James Harden contributed 38 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCS Northwest (Portland), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (48-30): Portland is two victories away from posting its third 50-win campaign in coach Terry Stotts' six seasons and the club is also working on clinching third place in the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers scored 100 or more points in 21 consecutive contests but there was a dejected feeling after losing to the lowly Mavericks. "I thought we were going to make a run like we always do, and we didn't," center Jusuf Nurkic said afterward. "So, we need to learn from that, plus playoff games are around the corner."

ABOUT THE ROCKETS (63-15): Harden missed a game against Portland earlier this season but averaged 45 points in two he played with outings of 48 and 42. The 28-year-old is closing in on his first scoring title with a career-best 30.7 average and is also averaging 8.8 assists and 5.4 rebounds. Backup guard Gerald Green tallied 16 points in the romp over Washington and is averaging 15.8 points over the past six contests to raise his average to 11.6 in 37 games since joining the team.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Rockets won six of the past seven regular-season meetings.

2. Houston F Ryan Anderson (ankle) will sit out after being injured on Tuesday.

3. Nurkic has 24 double-doubles this season after combining for 21 over his first four NBA campaigns.

PREDICTION: Rockets 127, Trail Blazers 109