Portland Trail Blazers Team Report - November 10

(Basketball News) - The Portland Trail Blazers will try to stop a two-game skid and salvage their three-game road trip tonight, when they take on the Boston Celtics at the FleetCenter.

Portland is coming off an extremely disappointing 64-60 loss to the New Jersey Nets at Continental Airlines Arena on Tuesday night. Zach Randolph paced the Trail Blazers with 16 points to go along with nine boards. Shareef Abdur-Rahim collected 13 points and 12 rebounds for Portland.

The Blazers shot only 24 percent for the game (19-of-78), while the Nets were just 25-of-73 from the floor (34 percent). The teams set an NBA regular-season record for fewest combined field goals made in a game (44).

The 124-point total was only five more than the previous record for combined scoring futility. Boston downed Milwaukee 62-57 in 1955, the first season of the NBA’s 24-second shot clock.

Portland center Theo Ratliff was limited to just 28 minutes due to foul trouble but managed five blocks and is leading the league with 23.

The Blazers are playing the first of 20 back-to-back set games (consecutive nights). Last season, the Trail Blazers were 14-18 in sixteen back-to-back sets of games and were 7-9 when both games took played on the road. Overall, Portland was 8-8 in the back end of the double-ups

Portland swept the series last year, winning 105-84 in the Rose Garden on Feb. 21, then beating Boston in the FleetCenter on Mar. 31. Nonetheless, the Celtics hold a 48-37 lead in the all-time series. Portland has won its last five games in Boston since a 102-101 loss on March 1, 1998. All told, the Blazers have won 15 of the last 20 meetings in this series.