Blazers seek 17th straight home-opening win (Oct 24, 2017)
PORTLAND, Ore. -- The New Orleans Pelicans will invade Moda Center on Tuesday night trying to stop a streak that began when Bill Clinton roamed the Oval Office.
The Portland Trail Blazers have won an NBA-record 16 consecutive home openers, dating to a 96-86 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000.
The Pelicans (1-2) recently added an important piece they hope can help them pull off an upset on Portland's home court.
On Saturday, veteran point guard Jameer Nelson signed a one-year free-agent contract with New Orleans. On Sunday, Nelson had five points and five assists and hit a critical 3-point shot in the late going of the Pelicans' 119-112 victory over the Lakers.
Nelson, who is backing up starter Jrue Holliday, drilled a trey with 1:26 remaining to effectively put the game away.
"He's already earned his contract," coach Alvin Gentry told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "He's a veteran, a pro who is not afraid of the moment. He made the biggest shot of the night."
After signing his deal, Nelson drove four hours from Philadelphia to New York to catch a direct flight to Los Angeles to join his new team in time for the Sunday game.
"Coming in off the fly -- that's what veterans do," New Orleans center DeMarcus Cousins said. "They know how to play the game. Jameer plays the game the right way. He came in and hit a huge shot for us. I look forward to his impact for the rest of the season."
New Orleans won three of four meetings with Portland last season, but the Trail Blazers won nine of the previous 11 encounters. Blazers point guard Damian Lillard has scored at least 27 points in his last five games against the Pelicans.
Lillard -- who has moved into the top 10 in franchise history in career scoring -- is averaging 23.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists in three games this season for the Blazers (2-1).
Portland center Jusuf Nurkic, who made such a splash after arriving in a trade-deadline deal with the Denver Nuggets last season, is averaging 13.0 points and 8.0 rebounds but is shooting only 43.2 percent from the field with 13 turnovers in the three games. His driving layup was blocked by Giannis Antetokounmpo in the closing seconds of a 113-110 loss at Milwaukee on Saturday.
"Slow start. I must be better, and I'm going to be," Nurkic told NBC Sports Northwest. "It just takes time. I'm getting there. On defense, I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. If I could make shots, it would be different. Unfortunately, I'm missing, so I just have to get back to work and trust myself."
Lillard said Nurkic's slump is due in part to the up-tempo style played by Portland's first three opponents.
"We've been playing a little bit faster pace, and a lot of that has to do with the teams we've played," Lillard said. "They play a faster pace, so it's been up and down. We haven't done a lot of throwing it down to Nurk on the block. He's been setting a lot more screens and running back (on defense)."
