INDIANAPOLIS -- The Portland Trail Blazers will make their one and only visit of the season to Indianapolis on Saturday night to take on the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers (11-12) are returning home from a five-game Western Conference road trip. They finished the trip 2/3 and lost to the leagues worst team, the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night 111-103.We are consistently inconsistent right now, said guard Aaron Brooks. The Pacers have been within two games of .500 the entire season, and have never won or lost more than two straight games. When it looks like theyve turned the corner, they suffer another loss like the one on Friday night.We needed to bring more energy on the defensive end, and that didnt happen, coach Nate McMillan said. We leave off this road trip with just two wins and have a team waiting on us at home. Weve got to get back to it.For the season, the Pacers have been a lot better on their home court. Theyre 8-4 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, compared to 3-8 away from it. Playing a back-to-back after a long Western trip will be no easy task, however, even at home. The Blazers were one of the teams the Pacers just saw on this trip, and Portland scored 131 points in that win over Indiana.Portland (12-12) is coming off a tough loss to Memphis on Thursday night. Late free throws by Toney Douglas put the Blazers away.It was a tough loss, Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. Our offense all game struggled. We struggled to make shots, and we didnt finish around the rim.Both teams are in similar positions in the standings, but in different conferences. There could be a lot of points scored in this game, as the Blazers are second worst in the NBA in defensive rating (109.1 points per 100 possessions given up). The Pacers are 11th worst in the same statistic and, as previously mentioned, will be playing on a back-to-back after a long trip out west.Coming into Friday night, these two teams were 8th and 9th in the league in pace of play.Damian Lillard is a tough matchup for the Pacers. He scored 28 points to go along with 10 assists in their win over Indiana earlier this season. He averaged 29.5 points in the two games against the Pacers last season.Conversely, Pacers star Paul George only averaged 11 points in the two games against the Blazers last season, his lowest average against any team. He was injured and did not play against Portland when these teams matched up recently.Like the Pacers, Portland has played a lot better at home. They are just 5-8 on the road to start the season.After missing Thursdays game against the Grizzlies, starting small forward Maurice Harkless has been upgraded to probable for Saturdays game (NBA.com). Hes averaging 13.0 points per game this season and is an important part of the Blazers success. Despite that bit of good news for Portland, forward Al-Farouq Aminu has been downgraded to doubtful for the game with a back contusion.Butch Goring Kings Jersey . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals. Robyn Regehr Kings Jersey . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. 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It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.ATLANTA -- The Rockies could consider placing outfielder Carlos Gonzalez on the disabled list after he aggravated his sprained right middle finger. Losing Gonzalez would be a big blow to a Colorado lineup that was overwhelmed by Mike Minor and the Braves in a 9-0 loss Wednesday night. Minor allowed only two hits in seven scoreless innings and Brian McCann hit a three-run homer in Atlantas seven-run third. Gonzalez left the game in the fourth inning. He aggravated the sprained finger on a swing in the first. Manager Walt Weiss said the disabled list was a possibility for Gonzalez. "I think its worth having a discussion," Weiss said. "I think he got it pretty good, too. It didnt look good. Its the same thing. "Weve talked about it; hes probably going to be dealing with this for a little while. Well have to re-evaluate where hes at." Gonzalezs injury affects his ability to grip the bat. He lost the bat on his follow-through while striking out to end the first. The bat hit catcher McCanns shoulder. The Braves have scored at least six runs in one inning while winning the first three games of the four-game series. Atlanta has scored 29 runs in the three wins. Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said it was frustrating to lose the last two games by a combined margin of 20-3. "These last two games have just been bad," Tulowitzki said. "We got our butts kicked." While the Rockies have struggled, the Braves, who had 15 hits, keep coming up with big innings. "I cant remember a time ever in my career three games in a row they scored, what, six-plus runs?" Tulowitzki asked. "Six in two games, seven tonight? In one inning? "Putting together hit after hit. ... A little bit of everything. Its a tough series." Tyler Chatwood (7-4) allowed a career-high seven earned runs on 10 hits, one walk and one hit batter in only 2 1-3 innings. "I fell behind and they hit some balls good," Chatwood said. "You cant fall behind hot teams like that." Weiss said Chatwood was just the latest Colorado starter to struggle "getting balls up in the middle of the plate." Weiss said Atlantas batters "arent missing anything thats in the middle of the plate. ... I think its been the same thing three nights in a row." It was a rare poor outing by Chatwood, who was coming off back-to-back wins. "I felt good about having Chatty out there tonight, the way he competes," Weiss said. "Hes throwing the ball good." Freddie Freeman drove in two ruuns with four hits and Justin Upton had three hits.dddddddddddd "Were clicking on all cylinders," Freeman said. Atlanta is threatening to run away with the NL East. The Braves lead second-place Washington by 11 games in the division, their biggest advantage in nine years. Minor (11-5) didnt walk a batter and didnt allow a Colorado baserunner to reach second base. Dexter Fowler led off the game with a single up the middle and was thrown out by McCann attempting to steal second. That was the only baserunner Minor allowed until Nolan Arenados single with two outs in the fifth. Minor, coming off a strong outing in a win over the Cardinals on Friday night, has given up two or fewer runs in five straight starts. He threw 95 pitches, 70 for strikes. Freemans single in the first inning drove in Jason Heyward, who reached on second baseman Charlie Culbersons fielding error. The Braves first six batters reached base in the third inning. Freeman and Evan Gattis had run-scoring singles before McCanns 15th homer pushed the lead to 6-0. Minors RBI single knocked Chatwood out of the game. Freeman singled and scored on Chris Johnsons single off Adam Outman in the fourth. Gonzalez, who throws left-handed, threw out Dan Uggla at the plate from left field in the second inning as Uggla tried to score from second on Andrelton Simmons single. TV replays indicated catcher Yorvit Torrealba may have missed Uggla on his swipe tag, and Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez came out for a brief exchange with home-plate umpire Marty Foster. DJ LeMahieu pinch hit for Gonzalez in the fourth inning. There was a delay in the seventh after Rockies right-hander Wilton Lopez hit Simmons with a pitch. The ball glanced off Simmons chest and then squarely hit Fosters left forearm. Foster left the game after he was examined by Braves assistant trainer Jim Lovell. X-rays were negative. Umpire Marvin Hudson moved from first base to take over at home. Luis Ayala pitched the final two innings and stranded two baserunners in the ninth. NOTES: Chatwoods ERA climbed from 2.48 to 3.15. ... Freeman had his second four-hit game of his career. His first was May 4, 2012, at Colorado. ... Faces in the crowd: Former boxing champion Evander Holyfield, former Braves manager Bobby Cox and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. ... Rockies RHP Chad Bettis will be called up from Double-A Tulsa to start in his major league debut against the Braves on Thursday night. RHP Julio Teheran will start for Atlanta. ...The last time the Braves led the division by 11 games was Oct. 2, 2004. ' ' '
