THE Los Angeles Clippers will seek to continue their domination over the Portland Trail Blazers when the teams conclude a two-game set Friday night in the Pacific Northwest.
Los Angeles has won eight straight games against the Trail Blazers and improved to 3-0 on the season with Wednesday night’s 116-103 victory in Portland.
Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden were all solid contributors for the Clippers (43-25) on Wednesday.
George scored 27 points, Leonard had 17 of his 24 points in the third quarter and Harden contributed 19 points and 14 assists.
George said it wasn’t the offense that fueled the victory.
“We have some really good people on the defensive end and we put everything together,” George said. “We played good defense, we got some saves, we came out and got some easy chances.
“Honestly, that’s when we click and we’re at our best – when we don’t have to face a loaded defense every possession.”
The win was badly needed for Los Angeles after losing four of their previous five games. Portland’s pre-series game ended in a terrible 110-93 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue felt fatigue was an issue.
“I’m not a big excuses guy, but I think they’re a little exhausted,” Lue said after the loss to Atlanta. “But they have to fight mentally and it will be tough challenges. We understand the journey, we understand the back-to-backs and everything, but we just have to fight. It’s not an excuse. … It can be mental, but we just can’t let that seep in.
Lue’s team certainly looked fresh against Portland after two days without a game and were clearly the stronger team in the second half.
Portland (19-50) has lost four straight games and eight of its last 10.
The Trail Blazers have lost 55, 49 and 50 games (and counting) in Chauncey Billups’ three seasons as coach.
Portland trailed 60-50 at halftime before a sloppy third quarter in which it committed seven turnovers. Its deficit was 94-70 at the end of the period.
“There were a lot of turnovers that led to points,” Trail Blazers forward Kris Murray said. “That was the most important thing. That’s about all it was.”
Murray scored a career-high 17 points against the Clippers. He has received extended playing time recently with compatriot Jerami Grant (hamstring) sidelined. Grant could miss the eighth time in nine games Friday.
Portland was also thin in the backcourt due to the lengthy absences of Malcolm Brogdon (elbow) and Shaedon Sharpe (abdominal surgery). And against the Clippers, guard Anfernee Simons only scored 14 points.
Additionally, big man Deandre Ayton had just eight points and seven rebounds after recording eight double-doubles in his previous nine appearances.
The Trail Blazers will look for a better result late in the two-game set.
“I think we can learn a lot from this,” Portland forward Jabari Walker said. The good thing is that we have to forget about that and then we will have another chance to prove it against the same team.”
–Field level media
Copyright 2024 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and the Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
