August 19, 2020
Page 7
S
PORTS
Blazers Face Lakers in First Round
Team makes playoffs for 7th straight year
Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard brings the ball up the court in a game
against the Golden State Warriors earlier this year. Lillard was the NBA league
leader in scoring and three-pointers during the playoff seeding games. He and the
Blazers now open a best of seven playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers in
Orlando, Fla. (AP photo)
After defeating the Memphis Griz-
zlies Saturday in the last seeding round
game, the Portland Trail Blazers will
launch into the NBA Western Confer-
ence Playoffs this week for the sev-
enth-straight season, starting a best of
seven series against the Los Angeles
Lakers.
Seeded eighth, the Blazers will
be the away team for Games 1 and
2 with the Lakers in Orlando, Fla.,
with the games played at the Adven-
tHealth Arena without fans in the
so-called “NBA bubble,” to protect
players during the coronavirus pan-
demic. Game 1 is on Tuesday, Aug.
18 and Game 2 is on Thursday, Aug.
20 at 6 p.m. PT. The series then shifts
to the Trail Blazers as the home team
at AdventHealth Arena, with game 3
on Saturday, Aug. 22 at 5:30 p.m. PT
and Game 4 on Monday, Aug. 24 at 6
p.m. PT.
If necessary, Game 5 will be played
on Wednesday, Aug. 26; Game 6 on
Friday, Aug. 28 and a decisive Game
7 on Sunday, Aug. 30. The times and
locations for Games 5, 6 and 7 are to
be determined.
The series opener will be televised
on TNT, with Game 2 on ESPN, Game
3 on ABC and Game 4 again on TNT.
All games in the first round, except
game 3, against the Los Angeles Lakers
will also be televised locally on NBC
Sports NW, the official network of the
Portland Trail Blazers and broadcasted
on Rip City Radio 620.
“We are ecstatic to once again have
the opportunity to play for another
NBA Championship, especially during
our special 50th Anniversary Season,”
says Trail Blazers and Rose Quarter
President & CEO Chris McGowan.
“Thank you to our fans for their tre-
mendous, unwavering support during
this season and the restart. I know Rip
City will continue to be loud and proud
for this team in their fight for the cham-
pionship.”
Los Angeles went 2-1 against Port-
land during the regular season. LeBron
James is averaging 25.3 points and 7.8
rebounds for the Lakers. Damian Lil-
lard is averaging 30 points and eight
assists for the Trail Blazers.