There's also a caveat on that streak. Sacramento was missing De'Andre Hunter, Murray, Raynaud and Simmons, and the run before it went through Utah twice, Minnesota and Dallas, with the Dallas game won by a single point. San Antonio is 7-2 and deserves the respect, but the last week has been a soft stretch, not a gauntlet. Tobias Harris (calf) is still out, so the forward rotation stays thin on a night when legs are already a question.
Portland got to 6-1 the way contenders do it: by winning in other teams' buildings. The Blazers beat Denver 118-110 behind 28 from Deni Avdija, then hammered Phoenix 132-119 with a 43-25 second quarter. That Suns win was the 5th straight road win to open the season. Damian Lillard scored 25 that night, Donovan Clingan added 24, and Avdija ran the offense with 21 points and 12 assists.
The game comes down to Clingan against Wembanyama. Clingan has been a monster on the glass, with 17 points and 18 rebounds in Denver, and he feasted on a Phoenix frontcourt missing 3 bigs. Wembanyama is a different problem. If Clingan can make him work on the defensive end on tired legs, Portland's guards get the space they need. If Wemby wins that matchup the way he won the Kings game, the back-to-back won't matter much.
These two met in the first round last spring, so nobody in this building is meeting anyone new. The Blazers still haven't shown what they look like at home, where they've played less this season than on the road, and a 7:00 PM PT tip against a team that played 24 hours earlier is about as good a chance as Portland will get to prove the Moda Center is worth something too.
