LOS ANGELES – The Trail Blazers used a 30-16 advantage in the third quarter and extended their lead to as many as 22 during the decisive period in defeating the Clippers in Los Angeles, 104-96, in front of 16,705 at Staples Center.
“The third quarter was great at both ends of the floor,” said Head Coach Terry Stotts. “We moved the ball, the offense was efficient, and defensively we were on point.”
The Trail Blazers have taken their winning ways at home onto the road, as they become winners of two straight away games, three straight wins overall and six of their last seven games in total. Portland sits a season-best six games above .500 at 28-22 and improves to 14-12 on the road – the third-best road record in the Western Conference.
Jusuf Nurkic scored 14 points and added a career-high tying 20 rebounds, while Damian Lillard led six Trail Blazers in double figures with 28 points and added a game-high seven assists. Lillard has now at least shared the team lead in scoring in 10 straight games.
“When he’s dominating the glass like that, it not only takes possessions or second opportunities and third opportunities from the other team, but it allows us to get the ball and get out and run,” said Lillard on Nurkic. “When he plays like that, he’s really impacting the game.”
With the win, Portland snapped a seven-game losing streak in the series against the Clippers that dated back to the beginning of the 2015-16 season.
TOP SCORERS
- Lillard led all players with 28 points on 6-13 FG, 5-9 3-PT and 11-11 FT. Lillard counted 16 points on just seven shots (5-7 FG, 4-6 3-PT) in the first half. He is now just 25 points shy of the 10,000 point mark for his career. He’ll look to become just the seventh member of Portland’s illustrious 10,000-point club on Wednesday against the Bulls.
- CJ McCollum (16), Nurkic (14), Ed Davis (14), Al-Farouq Aminu (11) and Shabazz Napier (10) joined Lillard in double digits on the night. For Davis, it was just one point off the season-high 14 points he scored in Portland’s last game – Friday in Dallas.
- Both Jusuf Nurkić (14 points, 20 rebounds) and Al-Farouq Aminu (11 points, 10 rebounds) finished Tuesday's win with double-doubles while Ed Davis finished one rebound with 14 points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
- Lou Williams led the Clippers with 20 points off the bench, but struggled to find his shot as he finished just 5 of 26 from the field (2-9 3-PT).
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NOTABLE
- Jusuf Nurkic matched a career high and set a new season high with 20 rebounds, equaling the mark he set March 9, 2017 against Philadelphia. Nurkic grabbed 10 rebounds in the third quarter alone and 16 in the second half – tying Bill Walton and LeRoy Ellis for the franchise record for rebounds in a half.
- The Blazers made nine of their first 12 3-point attempts and outscored the Clippers by 21 points in the game from behind the 3-point line.
- Before tonight’s win for the Trail Blazers, the Clippers had won seven straight meetings between these teams, dating back to November 20, 2015. Each of the last two matchups ended in one-point Clippers wins.
- Portland held a 59-50 rebounding advantage on the strength of an 18-9 margin on the offensive end. Nurkic (7) and Davis (5) combined for 12 of Portland’s offensive boards.
QUOTABLE
- “As a leader, you’ve got to come out and set the tone. In a road game, in a game that could be considered a trap game with the news happening with their team, I had to come out and lead the charge. That’s scoring, making plays and bringing the energy.” – Damian Lillard
BALDWIN JOINS THE BIG CLUB
Earlier on Tuesday, the Blazers recalled two-way guard Wade Baldwin IV from the Texas Legends of the NBA G League. He will join the squad for Wednesday’s game vs. Chicago.
In 17 games (16 starts) with the Legends, Baldwin IV averaged 18.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 2.18 steals and 33.8 minutes. He has not yet appeared in a game for the Trail Blazers.
NEXT UP
Portland heads straight back to the Rose City for the second game of a back-to-back against the Chicago Bulls Wednesday night. Portland looks to extend its home winning streak to eight games and complete a perfect 7-0 month at Moda Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on NBC Sports Northwest and NBC Sports Northwest Rip City Radio 620 AM.