Meyers Leonard injured his right ankle when landing awkwardly jumping for a rebound.

Leonard had X-rays taken on the his ankle after the game and Nicolas Batum told The Oregonian that Leonard told him the results revealed there is no fracture.

Neil Olshey said the Portland Trail Blazers will likely be built through the draft and free agency, not trades.

Olshey identified the Blazers' core as LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews.

“The players on our roster who are no-brainers,’’ Olshey said, referring to that core, “are not going anywhere.’’

Aldridge had been the subject of trade rumors earlier this season.

Olshey said the Blazers will not make a move unless it makes them a better team.

“Until you get enough phone calls for the message to get around the league that we are not breaking this up to rebuild, that we are building from where we are, (rumors) will probably still be out there,’’ Olshey said. “But clearly, trading a 27-year old All-Star like LaMarcus doesn’t get you better today.’’

The Portland Trail Blazers have won four games in a row to get back to .500 for the season.

“We don’t have a statistical formula for winning,” Terry Stotts said after the Blazers' 101-93 win over the Nuggets. “But I think when we play together, and do what’s necessary, we do pretty well.”

The Blazers are not excelling in any one facet of the game, relying on hard work.

“I think when you compete and you play hard, you make things happen,” Stotts said. “Like I always said about Gary Payton and Jason Kidd, they found ways to win, whether it was a rebound or shot, an assist, a steal, a deflection on a loose ball, whatever it was.”

Monty Williams had gone to the Clackamas Town Center, where a shooting took place last week, approximately 10 times with his kids during his time as an assistant with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Williams checked in with LaMarcus Aldridge to make sure that none of the Blazers were at the mall when the shooting occurred.

Williams attempted to put basketball in perspective a few days later following the mass shooting in Connecticut.

“I have always felt like (professional) basketball kind of puts us in a fantasy world a bit,’’ Williams said. “When things like (Clackamas) happen we think it puts life in perspective. But the reality is, we’ve have situations like that happen all over the world. There was situation in Asia not too long ago where a guy took a knife and cut up 20 kids, But we don't hear about that over here. If everything was reported all the time, we probably wouldn’t leave our homes. But the NBA isolates us a little bit, then when things happen, we think perspective, but that’s a natural reality for people in the Sudan, Johannesburg, third world South America. But for us, we live in a world where we read Hoopshype and RealGM everyday, and we don’t pay attention to what’s going on in the world.’’

The Portland Trail Blazers have recalled forwards Victor Claver and Joel Freeland from the team’s NBA Development League affiliate, the Idaho Stampede.

Portland assigned Claver and Freeland to the Stampede on Dec. 14.

Freeland posted averages of 20.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 37.0 minutes in the two contests. Freeland led the Stampede in scoring on Dec. 14 with 22 points.

Claver averaged 6.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 3.0 steals and 34.0 minutes in two games with Idaho. He recorded five steals against Santa Cruz on Dec. 14.

The Portland Trail Blazers have recalled forwards Joel Freeland and Victor Claver from the Idaho Stampede of the NBA D-League, the team announced on Sunday.

Freeland had 22 points and 11 rebounds in the Stampede's victory on Saturday.

Both players will be available for the Blazers against the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday night.

The Portland Trail Blazers have assigned forwards Victor Claver and Joel Freeland to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League. 

Claver played with the Stampede on Dec. 7 and 8, posting averages of 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.00 steal and 33.5 minutes in the two contests. Claver has appeared in six games with Portland this season, and averages 0.8 points, 1.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 10.2 minutes per contest.  

In 12 games this year with the Trail Blazers, Freeland is averaging 2.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 10.2 minutes per game. 

Henry Glickman was president of the Portland Trail Blazers when the franchise selected Sam Bowie in the 1984 NBA Draft. Michael Jordan was picked by the Chicago Bulls one pick later.

The Blazers had drafted Clyde Drexler one year earlier and Jordan wasn't even on their radar.

“I don’t remember Michael Jordan’s name being mentioned,” said Jack Ramsay.

“If you look back at the draft,” Glickman said, “if we hadn’t selected (Bowie), we wouldn’t have selected Jordan. We probably would have gone with Charles Barkley.”

Wesley Matthews heard a pop in his left hip flexor during the fourth quarter of the Portland Trail Blazers game on Saturday against the Kings.

Matthews has played in 250 straight games.

Matthews said he would get electric stimulation throughout the night, rest during Sunday’s practice, then try to play Monday.

“It’s done not only out of stubborness, but out of sacrifice for the team,’’ Matthews said of his streak. “It’s not just an individual thing,I’m doing this so my team knows I’m going to fight for them regardless. As long as I can compete, I’m going to compete.’’

The Portland Trail Blazers have assigned guard Will Barton and forward Victor Claver to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League.

Barton (6-5, 170, Memphis) has appeared in 16 games for Portland this season, averaging 2.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 8.8 minutes.  Originally selected in the second round (40th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft by the Trail Blazers, Barton played two seasons at Memphis, averaging 15.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 32.9 minutes in 70 NCAA career games. 

Claver (6-9, 224, Valencia, Spain) has appeared in four games for the Trail Blazers this season, scoring a total of one point and grabbing four rebounds.  A member of the Spanish National team who earned a Silver Medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Claver was a first round pick in 2009.