Celtics, Blazers battle in Portland

This is the second and final meeting of the season between the clubs. On February 10th, Paul Pierce poured in 35 points, dished out four assists and recorded six steals as Boston crushed the Trail Blazers, 115-83, at TD Banknorth Garden.

Boston has won two of the last three contests in this series, while the road team has won seven of the last 11 meetings. The Celtics have lost two straight after winning their last three at Portland.

The Celtics are 1-1 on the current swing and will try and get back on the winning track this evening. On Wednesday, Shawn Marion ended with a career- high 44 points and also pulled down 15 rebounds for his league-leading 41st double-double to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 103-94 victory over Boston at US Airways Center.

Delonte West had a career-high 30 points and dished out five assists, while Paul Pierce netted 20, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out six assists and Gerald Green registered 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench in the loss to Phoenix for the Celtics, who have dropped two of their last three games overall.

Boston is 5-21 on the road this season. The Celtics are scheduled to visit the Lakers on Sunday in the finale of the current swing. They have lost eight of their last nine games as the visitor.

Portland plays the middle contest of a three-game homestand. On Thursday, the Trail Blazers made some noise at the trade deadline. The Seattle SuperSonics, Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings and Trail Blazers completed a four-way trade.

Denver acquired Seattle forward Reggie Evans and Portland’s Ruben Patterson and Charles Smith in exchange for sending guard Earl Watson and forward Byron Russell, along with a future second-round draft pick, to the Sonics. Portland received Denver guard Voshon Lenard and Seattle center Vitaly Potapenko, who was immediately traded to Sacramento, along with forward Sergei Monia, for forward Brian Skinner.

The Trail Blazers enter tonight’s contest on a three-game losing streak. Kareem Rush poured in 28 points on 12-of-14 shooting as the Charlotte Bobcats edged Portland, 110-106, on Wednesday at the Rose Garden.

Darius Miles ended with 20 points and eight rebounds in the loss to Charlotte for the Trail Blazers, who have dropped seven of their last eight games overall. Juan Dixon ended with 17 points and six assists in defeat.

The Blazers, who will host the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets on Sunday in the finale of the homestand, are 12-14 at the Rose Garden this season. They have dropped four of their last six as the host.