PORTLAND -- It's been roughly six months since the Trail Blazers and Clippers met in what ultimately ended up being a rather contention first round playoff series. And if Thursday night's game between the two teams is any indication, six months isn't enough time to heal whatever wounds both teams left that series with.
In the end, the Clippers got a modicum of payback Thursday night after being eliminated by the Trail Blazers in the 2016 playoffs, beating Portland 106-114 in front of a sellout crowd of 19,500 at the Moda Center.
"It was a hard fought game," said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. "I liked the way we competed. We came out in the second half and competed. I can't say we necessarily played well enough to win the game but we competed and that's what you need. The Clippers are a good team, they're physical, they're veteran, they know how to kind of get away with some things, so they gook advantage of that."
With the loss, the Trail Blazers are now 1-1 for the season.
After a close first quarter, the Clippers, primarily with their second unit on the floor, ran off a 16-0 run to start the second quarter. L.A. would go up by as many as 12 in the quarter before taking a 58-49 lead into the halftime intermission.
Portland would rally in the third quarter, outscoring L.A. 33-24 to tie the game at 82-82 going into the fourth quarter. But the Clippers, led by Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and 23 foul shots in the fourth quarter would be too much for the Trail Blazers to overcome.
"I thought in the third quarter, we picked up the pressure defensively, we got ourselves going," said Damian Lillard. "We got out in transition, we got stops, we got steals. In the fourth quarter, I just feel like the game -- it wasn't a game. We couldn't really have a game."
Not to mention that Portland really couldn't hit from the three-point line, shooting 22 percent from beyond the arc in the loss.
"I thought we had some good looks, we had some rushed looks," said Stotts. "We were 4-of-18 -- obviously we're used to getting more than that so you've got to credit their defense for that."
Damian Lillard finished with a double-double of 29 points, 10 rebounds to go along with three assist before fouling out in 36 minutes. Maurice Harkless, who went scoreless in Portland's season opener, finished with 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting, eight rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes.
Mason Plumlee, who had to be separated at one point from Clippers center DeAndre Jordan and was later called for a flagrant foul on Blake Griffin, shot 7-of-9 from the field for 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes.
CJ McCollum added 16 points and four rebounds while Allen Crabbe added 10 points off the bench.
Paul and Griffin each finished the game with 27 points, with Griffin grabbing 13 rebounds and Paul handing out five assists. The Clippers bench, an area of weakness for the team last season, combined to score 45 points, with Jamal Crawford and Marresse Speights each putting up 15.
Next up, the Trail Blazers head out for their first road game of the season versus the Nuggets in Denver. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 pm.