----- The Trail Blazers improved to 8-5 on the road this season with a 95-88 win over the Magic Friday night in Orlando.
After a five-game losing streak, the Blazers have responded with back-to-back road wins to move their record to 2-1 on their current five-game road trip after a 95-88 win over the Magic on Friday night. The Blazers controlled the game for most of the night leading by as much as 17 points.
Terry Stotts has been searching all season for a reliable scorer behind Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Al-Farouq Aminu might be the answer he has been looking for. Aminu scored 15 points against the Magic Friday night on 6-for-9 shooting including 3-for-5 from downtown. On the season, Aminu is connecting on 48.4% of his three-point shots on the season and has gone 18-for-31 from downtown in his last five games.
Portland (15-13) got 21 points and four assists from Lillard and McCollum added 20 points. Jusuf Nurkic returned from his ankle injury to score nine points and 11 rebounds and added two blocks. He played on a minutes-restriction with coach Stotts playing him in six-minute shifts.
Next up- Portland will travel to Charlotte to meet the Hornets on Saturday. Game is scheduled to tip off at 4:00 PM.
Chad's Take- Never apologize for a road win in the NBA. After winning just 16 games on the road last season, the Blazers are 8-5 this year. That is a good sign for a young team.