Damian Lillard had 32 points and 9 assists in Portland’s win over Houston on Dec 26.
Get ready for TNT’s Thursday doubleheader with five key stats to know about each matchup.
Trail Blazers (9-7) at Rockets (7-9), 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT
The Blazers rank third in the NBA in 3-pointers made with 15.8 per game. They are 8-1 on the season when making at least 15 threes and just 1-6 when they finish with fewer than 15 threes.
Christian Wood is set to return after missing the past three games with an ankle injury. Wood leads the Rockets in scoring (23.5 ppg, 24th in NBA), rebounding (10.8 rpg, 11th in NBA) and blocks (1.8 bpg, 6th in NBA) and is one of five players to average 23-10 so far this season.
In Wood’s absence, DeMarcus Cousins started at center for the Rockets and averaged 17.3 points, 14.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 3.0 3-pointers (on 40.9% shooting) and 1.7 steals in 31.9 minutes per game to help Houston win all three games.
The Blazers are 6-2 in clutch games (score within five points in final five minutes) so far this season, with Damian Lillard leading the way. Lillard has 44 clutch points (tied for third-most in the league) and is shooting 11-17 (64.7%) from the field, 3-7 (42.9%) from 3 and a perfect 19-19 from the free throw line. The Blazers have outscored their opponents by 29 points in Lillard’s 29 clutch minutes.
Carmelo Anthony needs 31 points to pass Dominique Wilkins (26,668) for 13th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Anthony is coming off a season-high 22 points against OKC on Monday. His last game with at least 31 points came on Feb. 23, 2020 against Detroit.
Warriors (10-8) at Suns (8-8), 10:00 p.m. ET, TNT
Warriors rookie James Wiseman is coming off the best game of his young career as he finished with a career-high 25 points on 9-14 shooting from the field and 3-3 from 3-point range, grabbed six boards and blocked two shots in Golden State’s win over Minnesota on Wednesday.
The Warriors are 3-4 on the road this season and have allowed 121.6 points per game — the second-highest mark in the league, ahead of only Minnesota. However, the Suns enter Thursday on a three-game losing streak — with all three games at home and two without Devin Booker (hamstring). Phoenix scored a season-low 97 points on Wednesday against OKC.
Both teams played on Wednesday so Thursday’s game will be the second night of a back-to-back. So far this season, the Suns are 3-1 in those games, while the Warriors are 1-1.
Which team will be able to dictate the pace of play on Thursday? The Warriors play at the third-fastest pace in the league (104.25 possessions per 48 minutes), while the Suns play at the second-slowest pace (97.86).
Chris Paul enters Thursday ranked sixth in the NBA with 8.8 assists per game. He is on pace to become only the fifth player to average at least eight assists in their 15th season or later, joining Jason Kidd (3x), John Stockton (2x), Steve Nash (2x) and LeBron James (last season).
