The Blazers will try and help their cause on Thursday as they face a poor Golden State team (10:35 p.m. ET, TNT). The problem for Portland is that they have lost their last nine trips to Oakland.

The Trail Blazers are listed as 5-point favorites and the total is set at 212.5 at SBG Global.

Portland is coming off an 88-81 win over Sacramento on Tuesday even though they didn’t play well.

“We’re taking these wins, but we know we have to get better if we’re going to make a push,” said Portland’s Brandon Roy.

Portland has won five of their last seven road games and they should win at Golden State and end that nine-game losing streak. Golden State is simply awful. They allowed 118 points per game on their recent road trip where they went 0-5.

“We played our hearts out. We came up short again,” coach Don Nelson said. “I have to be pleased with the way that we’re playing. We just can’t seem to scratch a win out.”

One key to the outcome of this game could be the status of Golden State’s leading scorer Monta Ellis. He has missed the last six games and is questionable on Thursday. He had 34 points, eight assists and a career high-tying six steals in Golden State’s win over Portland in November.

Portland is trying not to overlook the Warriors on Thursday.

“Golden State is a tricky team,” Marcus Camby said, “They play small ball, they shoot the ball particularly well, so we definitely have to move our feet come Thursday night.”

Here are some key NBA betting stats for Thursday’s game:

The Trail Blazers are 10-3 ATS in their last 13 road games. The Trail Blazers are 0-4 ATS in the last four meetings at Golden State. The Warriors are 15-7 ATS in their last 22 vs. the Western Conference. The home team is 6-0 ATS in the last six meetings between these two teams.

The over is 4-0 in the Trail Blazers’ last four road games. The over is 15-7 in the Trail Blazers’ last 22 vs. the Western Conference. The under is 4-1 in the Warriors’ last five home games. The under is 9-2-1 in the last 12 meetings in Golden State.

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NBA (703) PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS VS (704) GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS.

Take: (703) PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS

Reason: Portland is motivated for the stretch run, Golden State is ready for the draft lottery. The Blazers, eighth in the Western Conference standings, are four games ahead of ninth-place Memphis. If Portland is going to make a move upward in the Western Conference standings in their final 16 games of the regular season, they need to improve their defense, coach Nate McMIllan said before the Blazers defeated Sacramento 88-81 Tuesday night. Despite blowing a big lead late and narrowly missing a cover, Portland is still 5-3 ATS the last eight games, with Brandon Roy healthy and newcomer Marcus Camby a big defensive force up front. In the win over Sacramento, the Blazers’ streak of scoring 100 or more points ended at seven, so the offense has been clicking. They also moved to within a half-game of seventh-place San Antonio. All that offense hasn’t helped Golden State win, on a 4-14 run. The reason is they are the worst defensive team in the NBA. Sacramento is home from a 5-game road trip and teams aren’t always in gear that first game back after a long trip. After similar road trips, the Warriors came home to face the Spurs and Thunder, and lost both by 11 and 12 points (0-2 ATS). Portland is 24-15 against the Western Conference, the fourth best mark. Play the Blazers.

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In the past, the Jazz excelled at home and collapsed on the road. This year Utah has proven they are tough in road games.

“We have more confidence on the road now,” said Deron Williams. “We realize if we come and create our own energy and play with intensity on defense and get stops, then we’ll have a chance to win ballgames.”

The Jazz visit the Detroit Pistons tonight (7:35 p.m. ET, NBA TV) and are listed as 5.5 -point favorite at SBG Global. The total is set at a total of 202.5

This is a key trip for the Jazz as they still have to play at Milwaukee and Oklahoma City.

“We have to prove, not only to ourselves but to everyone else, that we can win on the road consistently,” said Carlos Boozer. “This is a good test for our team. When the playoffs get here, we’ve got to win on the road…So we’re looking forward to it.”

Utah needs to start playing well from start to finish on the road. They have rallied from big deficits but that is not the way to consistently win games.

“We’d rather not have to come back,” said Boozer. “We’d rather be ahead the whole game, of course.

“But we do have a lot of resiliency. We have a lot of faith and belief in what we’re able to do. If we happen to be in that situation, we know we can come back and win the game.”

One thing to keep an eye on in this game is the status of Detroit’s leading scorer Rodney Stuckey, who is questionable after collapsing on the Pistons bench in a game against the Cavaliers last Friday.

Here are some key NBA betting stats for Wednesday night’s game:

The Jazz are 3-0-1 ATS in their last four vs. the Central. The Jazz are 6-2-1 ATS in their last nine games playing on no rest. The Jazz are 36-15-3 ATS in their last 54 games overall. The Jazz are 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings in Detroit.

The Pistons are 5-2 ATS in their last seven vs. the Northwest. The Pistons are 3-8-1 ATS in their last 12 home games.

The over is 6-1 in Utah’s last seven overall. The over is 7-3 in Utah’s last 10 games playing on no rest. The over is 5-2 in the Pistons’ last seven home games. The over is 4-0 in the last four meetings in Detroit.

SBG Global is a veteran in the online sports betting business and is one of SharpBettor.com’s trusted partners. SBG offers up to an incredible 295 percent in sign-up bonuses.

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