Trail Blazers-Clippers Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Mar 30 2012 2:22AM

A return home has the Los Angeles Clippers winning again, and already looking toward the playoffs.

The Portland Trail Blazers are just trying to win back-to-back games for the first time in over two months.

The Clippers look to extend their home winning streak to six games by taking a season series from the Trail Blazers for the first time in five years Friday night.

Los Angeles (29-21) has won the first three of this five-game homestand after an 0-3 road trip put coach Vinny Del Negro on the hot seat. A vote of confidence from owner Donald Sterling, combined with a return home appears to have the Clippers headed in the right direction.

"Winning is the best medicine," All-Star forward Blake Griffin said. "We lost three games in a row before we came home, and the world was about to fall apart for us. But we're doing a better job of not letting teams fight back into it and making it harder on ourselves - at least we have the last three games.

"We're trying to finish out games and go to the playoffs on the right foot."

Los Angeles is fourth in the Western Conference, 1 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the Pacific Division lead.

The Clippers pulled closer to their much more storied co-tenant Wednesday, beating Phoenix 103-86 behind 27 points and 14 rebounds from Griffin.

Chris Paul, who added 15 points and 15 assists, is wary of looking too far ahead.

"There's a lot of season left," said Paul, who is averaging 12.7 assists in the last three games. "Even though there's only 16 games to go, a lot can happen, so we're just going to keep trying to stay the course."

Los Angeles has won two of three season meetings with Portland, putting the club in position to take the season series for the first time since 2006-07.

Griffin had 21 points and 14 boards in a 74-71 road victory over the Blazers on Feb. 16.

Portland (24-27) is seeking consecutive wins for the first time since Jan. 23-24. The team has failed on 12 occasions since then to accomplish the feat, and is presented with the opportunity again after beating New Orleans 99-93 on Thursday.

LaMarcus Aldridge sparked that victory with 25 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, hours after he underwent an MRI on his sore right hip that showed no damage.

"It's something that has come with the short season and playing hard and getting knocked down out there," the All-Star forward said. "I'm just playing through it."

The Blazers are going to need him to since he averages team highs of 21.4 points and 8.1 rebounds. They're trying to make up a three-game deficit on Utah, Houston and Denver, which are tied for the final two playoff spots in the conference.

Aldridge missed the last meeting with the Clippers due to a sprained left ankle. He totaled 37 points and 16 boards over the previous two meetings, and will likely find himself matched up opposite Griffin.

Clippers beat Blazers 98-97 for 4th straight win

By BETH HARRIS
Posted Mar 31 2012 2:28AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) Chris Paul dribbled, his eyes darting to the shot clock, and kept dribbling. He was going to hold on to the ball and go for the win.

Paul made a driving layup with 5 seconds to go, lifting the Los Angeles Clippers over the Portland Trail Blazers 98-97 on Friday night as they tied their season high with their fourth straight victory.

"This ain't my first time," he said, having successfully closed yet another win in the final seconds for the Clippers. "I thought they might trap, but as I saw them go away, I tried to attack and get to the rim."

The franchise that long was the laughingstock of the NBA has won 11 of its 20 games decided by five points or less. Paul has often been the catalyst, whether he scores himself or dishes off.

"He's so crafty with the ball. He's not a fast player, but he's deceptive," Portland's J.J. Hickson said. "It looks like he's going one way, and he's really going the other way. He has a crazy in-and-out, and he knows how to finish around the rim with a lot of bigs jumping toward the ball."

Paul, Blake Griffin and Randy Foye led six Clippers in double-figures with 20 points each. Caron Butler and DeAndre Jordan had 12 each, and Nick Young added 10. Griffin had 13 rebounds and Paul had 14 assists as they moved within a game of the first-place Lakers in the Pacific Division.

"Guys made plays and Foye stepped up," Griffin said. "He's played really well for us all season."

The Clippers trailed by two when Paul got the ball to Foye, who hit a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left to put the Clippers ahead 96-95.

"J.J. Hickson was right there, so I just shot the ball," Foye said. "It seemed like as soon as CP threw the ball to me, it was in slow motion and I just shot the ball and held my follow-through."

Jamal Crawford made a 22-footer with Foye's hand in his face and Portland led 97-96 with 13 seconds left.

"I thought it would be enough, but we just couldn't get that one stop," Crawford said.

Wesley Matthews missed a running jumper in the waning seconds for Portland, which had drawn up the final play for Crawford.

"Paul took him out of it," Blazers interim coach Kaleb Canales said. "Wesley got the ball and took it to the basket and there was a tough no-call."

Hickson led the Blazers with a season-high 29 points and 13 rebounds, filling in for injured All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge.

"It means nothing when you don't win," Hickson said. "I would have loved to have gotten the win and been in here laughing and talking about it, but it's tough when you don't win after playing a great ballgame. It kind of goes down the drain."

Nicolas Batum added 18 points, Crawford 14, and Matthews 12 as the Blazers fell to 7-19 on the road. Aldridge missed the game because of a sprained left elbow he sustained in a win against New Orleans a night earlier.

Hickson scored six straight points and Raymond Felton added a 3-pointer to give Portland an 89-83 lead, its largest of the fourth quarter.

Griffin made two free throws - the only time in the quarter that a Clipper hit both attempts - and Paul scored to draw them within two.

"He's been the difference-maker this year," Griffin said about Paul.

Hickson missed both free throws with 57 seconds left and the Blazers ahead 95-93, but they went on to lose for the third time in four meetings against the Clippers.

"I've got to make free throws, and we've got to get stops as a team," Hickson said. "I take the fall for this one."

Paul and Foye hit 3-pointers early in the third quarter, when the Clippers led by eight. The Blazers rallied to tie it at 62 on consecutive 3-pointers by Crawford and Luke Babbitt. From there, it was back-and-forth with the Blazers tying it twice more. Kenyon Martin's putback with three-tenths of a second left gave the Clippers a 73-70 lead going into the fourth.

The Clippers led until early in the second quarter, when the Blazers scored 15 straight points to go ahead 35-25 helped by 3-pointers from Babbitt, Jonny Flynn and Batum.

Los Angeles responded by outscoring Portland 21-8 to end the half ahead 46-43. Foye scored his first 12 points in the run, including three 3-pointers, and Paul capped it with a twisting driving layup at the buzzer that landed him on the floor.

Notes: The Clippers also won four straight from Jan. 26-Feb. 1. ... They have scored 100 or more points once in their last 14 games against the Blazers. ... Clippers F Reggie Evans was fined $25,000 for making an obscene gesture during Monday's game against New Orleans. He admitted he made the gesture, but he said it wasn't directed at the fans. Evans said he was responding to an inside joke between him and teammates Griffin and Jordan, who were teasing him from the bench.

Notebook: Clippers 98, Blazers 97

Posted Saturday March 31, 2012 2:29AM

By Dan Arritt, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Everyone inside Staples Center knew Friday night who would have the ball with the Clippers trailing by one point and less than 10 seconds remaining, most of all, the Trail Blazers. But they were unable to prevent the dribble-drive penetration by Chris Paul and subsequent layup with five seconds left, lifting the Clippers to a 98-97 victory that moved them within a game of the Lakers in the Pacific Division.

QUOTABLE: "I thought they might trap, but as I saw them go away, I saw an opportunity there and I just tried to attack and go to the rim."
-- Chris Paul

THE STAT: Three players scored 20 points for the Clippers and all five starters finished in double figures, as well as back-up guard Nick Young. Starting shooting guard Randy Foye had the most unexpected contribution, especially after picking up two fouls in the game's opening minute. He came back to score 12 of his 20 points in the second quarter and hit a huge 3-pointer down the stretch. Foye, who moved into a starter's role after Chauncey Billups was lost for the season, has been much more productive as a starter, averaging 11.2 points coming into the game, compared to 5.9 off the bench.

TURNING POINT: The Clippers trailed by four points after Nicolas Batum hit a 16-foot jumper with 1:25 remaining in the game. Caron Butler scored on his second drive to the basket in the final minutes, cutting the deficit back to two points. J.J. Hickson had a chance to push his team's lead back to four when he went to the free-throw line with 57 seconds on the clock. He missed both free throws, however, opening the door for the Clippers to take a one-point lead on a 3-pointer by Foye, courtesy of the 14th assist by Paul. After securing an offensive rebound off Jamal Crawford's miss, Crawford got another chance and this time he buried a high-arcing 21-footer with 13.9 seconds left, setting the stage for Paul's final heroics.

HOT: With their leading scorer, LaMarcus Aldridge, sidelined with a sprained left elbow, someone had to step up for the Trail Blazers and that turned out to be Hickson. Claimed off waivers from Sacramento on March 21, he's looking like the steal of the season. He produced season highs of 29 points and 13 rebounds, while shooting 13-for-19 from the field. He was a handful for Clippers forward Blake Griffin down the stretch, making all four of his field-goal attempts and scoring eight points in the final 5:54. His memorable night ended on a sour note when he missed both free throws in the final minute, however. If he makes those, he matches his career high and it's a two-possession game.

NOT: Even after Paul scored with five seconds remaining, the Trail Blazers had a timeout remaining and were able to inbound the ball on their end of the floor. They chose to draw up a play for Wesley Matthews, who drove through the lane and attempted a wild bank shot as his momentum carried him away from the basket. After coming up woefully short, he protested vehemently that he was fouled by Griffin, but to no avail. He ended up shooting 5-for-13 and scoring 12 points.

GOOD MOVE: The Clippers have been getting the ball to center DeAndre Jordan early in games and that has helped get the perimeter defense to sag off the guards. He scored eight of his 12 points in the opening quarter and hit all four of his shots, helping the Clippers to a 23-18 lead.

BAD MOVE: Hickson was having a great game, but having him guard Paul on the final possession was a mistake. Paul and his teammates recognized the mismatch in speed, spread the floor and Paul drove right around Hickson like he was a stop sign.

QUOTABLE II: "Early in the season, we might not have been able to gut that one out. We kept battling and found a way to get it done in the end."
-- Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro.

NOTABLE: Aldridge, who is averaging 21.4 points, is listed as day-to-day after the suffering the injured elbow Thursday night in a victory against the visiting Hornets ... Paul had four more steals, extending his streak of games with at least one steal to 55. That matches Gary Payton for the fourth-longest streak in NBA history. Paul is No. 1 with 108 straight games with a steal from April 2007 to December 2008. At one time the Clippers were 8-9 in games decided by five points or less, now they've won three straight in the last two weeks.

UP NEXT: For the Clippers, Saturday vs. Utah, Monday @ Dallas, Wednesday vs. L.A. Lakers. For the Trail Blazers, Sunday vs. Minnesota, Monday vs. Utah, Wednesday vs. New Jersey.

• Trail Blazers: Williams, Williams
• Clippers: Billups, Leslie, Williams

• Trail Blazers: --
• Clippers: --

• Lead Changes: 10
• Times Tied: 10

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #34 Kevin Cutler, #75 Eric Dalen
• Attendance: 19060
• Duration: 2:29