<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Pacers are getting the job done in typical Eastern Conference fashion -- behind solid defense. Sunday's game against the Lakers opened a five-game Western swing for the Pacers, who play in Phoenix tonight. The Blazers have won three consecutive games against Indiana and five of the last six. Rasheed Wallace had 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Blazers to a 94-80 victory over the Pacers in last season's game at the Rose Garden. Key player: Jermaine O'Neal, known as "The Kid" when he played in Portland, is in his eighth NBA season and looking to make his third consecutive trip to the All-Star Game. Zach Randolph probably will be assigned to guard O'Neal, who averaged 28 points and nine rebounds in two games against the Blazers last season. Probable starters: F -- Jermaine O'Neal F -- Ron Artest C -- Jeff Foster G -- Reggie Miller G -- Kenny Anderson FRIDAY New York at Portland 7 p.m. Rose Garden The defensive-minded Knicks have held their opponents to 90.4 points on 41.3 percent shooting from the field but have struggled at times offensively. After Allan Houston, Keith Van Horn, Kurt Thomas and Charlie Ward, the Knicks (7-10) have no one averaging more than 7.9 points. Last season, the Blazers swept the two-game series from New York to run their winning streak against the Knicks to three games. The last time the Knicks won in Portland was March 26, 2000, when they beat the Blazers 93-89. Key player: Houston, in his 11th season and eighth with the Knicks, broke out of a mild shooting slump Saturday with 18 points on 8 of 20 shooting from the field against New Orleans. In the last five games, Houston has averaged 12.4 points -- more than seven points below his season average. Probable starters: F -- Kurt Thomas F -- Shandon Anderson C -- Dikembe Mutombo G -- Allan Houston G -- Howard Eisley SUNDAY Portland at Memphis 1 p.m. The Pyramid Having settled into last place in the Midwest Division, the Grizzlies (7-8) needed a three-pointer from Shane Battier at the end of regulation and another from Mike Miller at the end of the first overtime before beating Cleveland in double overtime Saturday to salvage something from an otherwise dismal week. The Grizzlies didn't put up much of a fight when they visited Portland on Nov. 5. The Blazers jumped to a 50-32 halftime lead before easing to a 93-87 victory behind Randolph's 20 points and 16 rebounds. Pau Gasol and Miller had 19 points each for the Grizzlies, who have lost four of the last five against Portland. Key player: Jason Williams is a pest when he is hitting his outside shot, but the Grizzlies point guard made just 1 of 5 shots and finished with three points in 27 minutes the last time Memphis played the Blazers. Williams had 24 points and 11 assists against Minnesota on Friday for his second double double of the season, then came out of Saturday's game against Cleveland after playing only four minutes because of back spasms. Probable starters: F -- Pau Gasol F -- James Posey C -- Jake Tsakalidis G -- Mike Miller G -- Jason Williams </div> Full Story
