Bucks-Trail Blazers Preview

Milwaukee's Michael Redd has been posting his usual gaudy numbers on offense, but he'd no doubt like to be getting more help from his teammates.

Redd looks to build off his best scoring game of the season on Sunday when the Bucks visit Brandon Roy and the Portland Trail Blazers.

Redd scored a season-high 41 points on Friday, but the Bucks (8-10) still lost 104-98 to Seattle for their sixth defeat in seven games. Redd has scored at least 24 points in his last three games, and the 40-point performance was the ninth of his career.

Still, his offensive explosion was offset somewhat by one from Seattle rookie Kevin Durant, who matched his career high with 35 points.

"I love that challenge and being put in that position," Redd said. "Seattle was trying to play all kinds of funky defenses, box-and-one's, and all kinds of crazy defenses. It didn't matter, but at the end of the day, they got the win."

Redd averaged a career-high 26.7 points in 2006-07 and is scoring 24.3 per game so far this season. However, his average is nearly 11 points more than Milwaukee's second-highest scorer, Mo Williams, and he is one of only three Bucks, including Andrew Bogut (12.4), averaging double figures in points.

On Friday, Seattle's bench outscored the Bucks' reserves 30-12.

"We came to play, we just couldn't make shots and we couldn't make stops when we needed them," Redd said.

The Bucks were without forward Bobby Simmons, who returned to Milwaukee to attend to a personal matter. The team is not sure whether Simmons, who is averaging 7.3 points and 21.6 minutes, will be back Sunday for the fourth game on a five-game trip.

The Bucks are 2-8 on the road this season, while Portland (7-12) is 6-3 on its home court. Milwaukee has won three of four against the Blazers, but dropped the last meeting on Jan. 21, 99-95 in Portland.

Redd and the Bucks will see another dynamic scorer in Roy, who had 25 points in Portland's 112-106 win over Miami on Thursday. Roy also had 26 points in Monday's win at Memphis, after managing a total of just 12 points in his previous two games and shooting just 23 percent (12-of-53) in his previous four.

Roy called that four-game stretch the "lowest point of the season," but said a talk with coach Nate McMillan helped him shake it.

"He said quit thinking so much, he said go out there and be aggressive," Roy said. "That's what I did tonight."

Travis Outlaw chipped in 20 points, LaMarcus Aldridge added 14 points and 10 rebounds and reserve James Jones scored all of his 14 points in the first half for the Blazers, who have won two in a row after dropping nine of 10. Outlaw has scored at least 20 points in three of his last five games.

"Travis stepped up, LaMarcus played big and James Jones gave us a lift off the bench," Roy said. "Everybody played well for us."