Portland (15-9) won six in a row from Nov. 24-Dec. 3, but has since lost three of four, including a 97-88 defeat at Utah on Thursday. The loss dropped the Trail Blazers into a tie with Utah for second place the Northwest Division.

Brandon Roy scored 33 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 22 for Portland, which was unable to overcome a deficit of 11 free-throw attempts. Roy, who was 12-for-22 from the field, saw his second straight 30-point game go to waste.

"They did a great job of taking away my outlets and forcing me to be little bit more of a scorer," said Roy, who'd scored 30 points Tuesday in a 109-108 home defeat to Orlando.

That contest was the Blazers' first loss in eight games at the Rose Garden this season. Portland has played twice as many games - a league-high 16 - on the road, splitting those contests with eight wins and eight losses. Starting now and continuing through Jan. 10, though, the Blazers will play 10 of their next 12 games on their home floor.

Prior to Tuesday's loss, Portland had won its seven home games by an average margin of 14.7 points.

Los Angeles (4-17) should prove to be an easier opponent than were the Southeast Division-leading Magic. The Clippers own the second-worst record in the Western Conference and have dropped four of their last five, including a 95-88 home loss to Orlando on Monday. Baron Davis scored a team-high 27 points for Los Angeles, which led by nine points late in the third quarter before the Magic scored the first 10 points of the final period and took control.

The Clippers are only 3-4 when leading after three quarters, while Portland has won a league-high five games in which it trailed entering the fourth.

"The Clippers have had a lot of these games where they've been right there and been ahead in the fourth, then had some trouble down the stretch," Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I've had teams that went through that, and it sort of gets in your mind a little bit, too."

Los Angeles' only win in the last five games was a 107-84 road victory over struggling Minnesota last Saturday - its second-highest scoring game of the season. On Monday, the Clippers were held to fewer than 90 points for the 10th time in 2007-08. They are averaging a Western Conference-low 92.5 points per game.

Portland swept the three-game series against the Clippers last season, although two of the wins came by a combined seven points.