Who’s playing
Los Angeles Clippers@Portland Trail Blazers
Current records: Los Angeles 42-25, Portland 19-49
How to watch
- When: Wednesday March 20, 2024 at 10 p.m. ET
- Or: Moda Center at Rose Quarter – Portland, Oregon
- TV: Bally Sports SoCal
- Follow: CBS Sports app
- Online broadcast: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket cost: $2.00
What there is to know
The Clippers will play the full four quarters on Wednesday, but they should have things finished well before that. They will hit the road to face the Portland Trail Blazers at 10 p.m. ET at the Moda Center in the Rose Quarter. Since both teams suffered a loss in their last match, they both have a little more motivation heading into this match.
After a score of 149-144 in their last game, the Clippers and Hawks decided to play a little more cautiously this time around. Los Angeles suffered a 110-93 loss to the Hawks on Sunday. The Clippers have now taken an “L” in consecutive games.
The Clippers’ defeat should not overshadow the performances of Paul George, who scored 26 points as well as six rebounds and four steals, and Kawhi Leonard who scored 28 points. George is on a roll when it comes to points, as he has now scored 26 or more in the last three games he has played.
Unsurprisingly, given the score, the Clippers struggled to work together and finished the game with just 17 assists. They were demolished by their opponents in this department as the Hawks recorded 32 assists.
Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers’ recent rough patch got a little tougher on Monday after their third straight loss. They fell just to Chicago by a score of 110-107. The loss unfortunately continues a disappointing trend for the Trail Blazers in their matchups with the Bulls: they have now lost five in a row.
The defeat of the Trail Blazers should not overshadow the performances of Deandre Ayton, author of a double-double with 25 points and 15 rebounds, and Anfernee Simons who almost dropped a double-double with 30 points and nine assists. Simons hasn’t dropped below 25 points in three straight games.
Los Angeles’ loss was their third in a row at home, dropping their record to 42-25. This difficult period could be blamed on the team’s poor offensive performance during this period, as they averaged only 103.3 points per game. As for Portland, they have struggled recently as they have lost four of their last five matchups, which has significantly dented their 19-49 record this season.
This competition is shaping up to be a blast: the Clippers simply can’t miss this season, shooting 49.1% per game. It’s a different story for the Trail Blazers, as they’ve made just 44.3 percent of their shots this season. Given the Clippers’ considerable advantage in this area, the Trail Blazers will need to find a way to close this gap.
The Clippers didn’t have too much breathing room in their matchup against the Trail Blazers in the teams’ last game in December 2023, but they still came away with a 132-127 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Clippers since the team won’t have home-court advantage this time around. We’ll see if the change of location makes a difference.
Odds
Los Angeles is big favorite with 12 points against Portland, according to the latest NBA Odds.
Oddsmakers had a good idea of the line for this one, as the game opened with the Clippers as 11.5-point favorites.
The over/under is 217 points.
See NBA Pick for every game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get Picks Now.
History of the series
Los Angeles has won 9 of its last 10 games against Portland.
- December 11, 2023 – Los Angeles 132 vs. Portland 127
- October 25, 2023 – Los Angeles 123 vs. Portland 111
- April 8, 2023 – Los Angeles 136 vs. Portland 125
- March 19, 2023 – Los Angeles 117 vs. Portland 102
- November 29, 2022 – Los Angeles 118 vs. Portland 112
- December 06, 2021 – Los Angeles 102 vs. Portland 90
- November 9, 2021 – Los Angeles 117 vs. Portland 109
- October 29, 2021 – Portland 111 vs. Los Angeles 92
- October 25, 2021 – Los Angeles 116 vs. Portland 86
- April 20, 2021 – Los Angeles 113 vs. Portland 112
