The Indiana Pacers will travel to Portland, Oregon to face the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center at the Rose Quarter on Friday night with tip-off scheduled for 10:00 PM ET and will air on Bally Sports Indiana.

The Pacers enter this game in 7^th place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 24-17 following a 126-121 win on the road against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday which also ended their two-game losing streak. Indiana plays at one of the fastest tempos in the NBA which leads them to be one of the highest-scoring teams but also one of the worst defensive teams as they enter this game averaging the most points per game in the NBA with an average of 125.2 points per game while allowing the 2^nd most points per game with an average of 123.44 points allowed per game. 

Myles Turner has been one of the better players on the team as he is 2^nd on the team in scoring while leading the team in rebounds and blocks with an average of 17.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.92 blocks per game. The Indiana Pacers will look to build off the momentum following the win on the road against the Kings when they travel to face the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Portland Trail Blazers are the 2^nd worst teams in the Western Conference as they enter this game with a record of 11-29 which also gives them the 5^th worst record in the NBA, however, they are coming off a 105-103 win at home against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday which also ended their four-game losing streak. Portland has been a slightly below-average team defensively as they are allowing an average of 116.73 points per game which is more than the league average of 115.52 points per game. 

However, the Trail Blazers are the lowest-scoring team in the league with an average of 107.23 points per game. Deandre Ayton is averaging a double-double this season with an average of 13.1 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, however, he has missed the previous 12 games for the Trail Blazers and will be a game-time decision on Friday against the Pacers with a knee injury. The Portland Trail Blazers will look to build off the momentum following the win on the road against the Nets when they host the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.

BookMaker has the Indiana Pacers listed as 8-point favorites on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. Portland has won six of the last ten and two of the previous three meetings. The Trail Blazers are 6-4 ATS in the last ten and have covered the spread in two of the previous three meetings in the series. The Indiana Pacers are 24-17-1 ATS overall, 11-8 ATS on the road, and 10-7-1 ATS as a favorite this season while the Portland Trail Blazers are 18-22 ATS overall, 8-10 ATS at home, and 17-19 ATS as an underdog on the year.

Indiana is the better team and Pascal Siakam may make his team debut following the trade on Wednesday from the Raptors which will help with the absence of Tyrese Haliburton for the next few games. The Pacers have also been one of the better teams at covering the spread this season with a record of 24-17-1 ATS overall. I look for those trends to continue which is why I am laying the points with the Indiana Pacers when they travel to face the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night