The Portland Trail Blazers' 125-121 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday wasn't just demoralizing because of their stagnant, disorganized late-game offense. It wasn't just frustrating due to the surprise absence of Richaun Holmes or fourth-quarter ejection of De'Aaron Fox, either, making the Kings yet another short-handed foe to beat the Blazers. Failing to avenge a season-opening loss at Moda Center is another reason why Portland's latest defeat stung more than most.

But the biggest justification behind the loss to Sacramento registering as such a stark disappointment for the Blazers? It pushed their record away from Moda Center to a disastrous 1-8, with that lone victory coming over the lowly, rebuilding Houston Rockets. Only the Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans have a worse record in road games this season than Portland, and its next chance to improve on that standing definitely won't be easy.

Needless to say, the Blazers could've used some momentum on the road going into Friday's game against the league-leading Golden State Warriors. FanDuel lists Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and company as six-point favorites. They're 10-1 at Chase Center this season with a +17.0 net rating, the best home mark in basketball, per Cleaning the Glass.

Don't tell Damian Lillard Portland has anything less than a puncher's chance to beat Golden State, though.

“It's definitely a game that we can win; we just gotta do a lot of things right,” he said. “They're the best team in the league right now and they play really well at home. It's gonna take a great effort from us to win it, but it's something we're very capable of doing.”

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The Blazers' ugly win-loss record outside of Rip City isn't even much of a concern for Lillard entering Friday's game. Why? He believes Portland has learned how hard it has to play on the road and simply failed to take advantage of golden opportunities to win away from Moda Center — just like the Blazers did against the Kings.

“It's been a struggle,” Lillard said of his team's road woes. “But every game that we've been in, there's been a point in the game where we let the game slip away from us. Tonight, the effort was there. We was just one or two plays short. We gotta go into Golden State with that same mentality.”

Expecting Portland to break the Warriors' nine-game home winning streak is setting yourself up for disappointment. But the Blazers' peak is definitely high enough to at least compete with Golden State, so they're hoping this is the game they finally break through outside the friendly confines of Moda Center.