Clippers-Trail Blazers Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Nov 08 2012 3:03AM

With Chris Paul running the show and Blake Griffin down low, the Los Angeles Clippers feature one of the game's most explosive offenses.

Their defensive efforts are also earning some well-deserved acclaim.

The Clippers try to build on an impressive result and pick up a rare road win over the Portland Trail Blazers when these teams square off Thursday night.

Los Angeles (3-2), which opened 2-0 before suffering back-to-back home losses, regrouped Wednesday with a 106-84 victory over previously undefeated San Antonio. Griffin and DeAndre Jordan combined for 42 points and 21 rebounds while Paul notched his fourth double-double with 10 points and 12 assists.

"Chauncey (Billups) gave us a good talking to after the last two games," Jordan said. "We really didn't want to disappoint him. He told us that we took our last two opponents for granted and we didn't come out to play. Tonight we brought more intensity and it helped us."

While the Clippers are fourth in the NBA with 104.6 points per game, they're also getting things done on the defensive end. Los Angeles held the Spurs to 41.1 percent shooting and forced 20 turnovers, outrebounding them 46-29.

The Clippers are forcing 18.8 turnovers per game to rank second in the league - a huge improvement from last season's mark of 14.6.

"We were so successful (Wednesday) because of our defense," Paul said. "When you defend and stop teams, that's when it's fun. If you can defend on a nightly basis in this league you've always got a chance to win. We needed a win like this."

The Clippers had dropped six straight road matchups to the Trail Blazers (2-2) by an average of 14.5 points before breaking through with a 74-71 victory Feb. 16 behind 21 points and 14 rebounds from Griffin. Los Angeles, which didn't face LaMarcus Aldridge that night, has just six wins in 32 all-time visits to the Rose Garden.

This is the team's first game outside Staples Center this season, although it had a "road" game against the Lakers.

Portland is returning home following a disappointing three-game road swing. The Blazers fell to Oklahoma City on Friday before beating Houston in overtime the following night, then concluded their trek Monday with a 114-91 loss to Dallas.

Aldridge and Wesley Matthews each had 20 points against the Mavericks but star rookie Damian Lillard was held to 13 on 2-of-13 shooting. The No. 6 overall pick in this year's draft had scored at least 20 in each of his first three games while shooting 47.1 percent, and his five assists Monday were also a season low.

"He missed some open looks that he's been making. He saw some pick-and-roll defense," coach Terry Stotts said. "(The Mavericks) were very aggressive in the second half; blitzing and trying to take the ball out of his hands. And we anticipated them doing it. We didn't have necessarily enough time to prepare for it. But, I think more teams will do that and it's one of the adjustments that we need to anticipate."

The Blazers, who were limited to 38.7 percent from the field Monday, dropped to 0-2 this season and 4-42 since the start of 2008-09 when shooting under 40.0 percent.

Griffin has recorded seven double-doubles in as many matchups with Portland. He's averaging 20.0 points and 13.7 boards in those games.

Los Angeles' Jamal Crawford, who put up 14.0 points per contest for the Blazers last season before opting out of his contract, entered Wednesday averaging 24.0 before scoring 10 against the Spurs. He's shooting 52.4 percent after posting a dismal 38.4 mark for Portland.

The Blazers are lacking bench scoring, with their reserves averaging a league-worst 12.8 points.

Clippers build big lead, beat Blazers 103-90

By ANNE M. PETERSON
Posted Nov 09 2012 2:49AM

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Chris Paul joked that the Trail Blazers' near-comeback against the Clippers made for good television.

"You always gotta make it interesting," he said with a smile.

But only to a point.

The Clippers built a 25-point lead in the first half then held off a second-half rally by the Blazers for a 103-90 victory on Thursday night. Jamal Crawford scored 25 points off the bench while Paul and DeAndre Jordan had 21 apiece.

"We all knew what we were supposed to do. We came out a little flat defensively in the third quarter, so we all got on each other," Jordan said. "We knew in the fourth quarter we had to come out and play."

Nicolas Batum had 23 points and nine rebounds for the Blazers, who ultimately couldn't catch up.

Rookie Damian Lillard's pull-up jumper and Batum's 3-pointer helped Portland trim Los Angeles' lead to 75-69 late in the third quarter. Batum's driving layup at the buzzer made it 77-71 heading to the final period.

Portland closed to 86-82 on Meyers Leonard's alley-oop dunk from Batum, but the rally fizzled and Paul sent fans streaming for the doors when his jumper with 2:51 left extended the lead to 98-85.

"We can't wait until we're down 20 points to say, `Man, we've got to play now,"' said Batum, who had success in the second half when he was put on Paul.

Clippers star Blake Griffin had 10 rebounds and seven points while playing with a sleeve covering his right arm for the third straight game because of fluid in his elbow.

"I wouldn't really say it's affecting my play. Once you're out there it's just a matter of playing," Griffin said. "It's gotten better each day so a few days off will be good for it but it's not something I'm worried about."

Los Angeles improved to 4-2 in its first game away from the Staples Center. They had a road win over the rival Lakers last Friday.

The victory over Portland came on the second night of back-to-back games. The Clippers handed San Antonio its first loss with a 106-84 victory on Wednesday night.

The Blazers (2-3) were coming off a 1-2 road trip that concluded with a 114-91 loss at Dallas on Monday.

Lillard said the fact that the Blazers came back from such a deficit was encouraging.

"We know when we play like that, with a lot of energy and when we're flying around, playing hard and moving the ball, we know that we can play with one of the best teams in the league," he said. "At the same time, we can't put ourselves in that hole, because we're not that level of team to be able to fight back every time."

Willie Green hit a 3-pointer to give the Clippers a 24-16 lead in the first quarter, and it quickly got ugly.

The Clippers grabbed a 43-28 lead on Matt Barnes' fast-break basket. Portland struggled offensively and Los Angeles led 53-30 after a 22-2 run - much of it with Griffin taking a break on the bench.

Luke Babbitt hit a 3-pointer for the Blazers at the halftime buzzer, but it didn't make much of a difference and the Clippers led 60-39 at the break.

Portland's reserves, averaging an NBA-low 12.8 points per game, had just eight points in the first half. Their Clippers counterparts scored 25.

The Blazers outscored the Clippers 32-17 in the third quarter, shooting 71 percent for the floor. Batum led the way with 12 points in the quarter.

For the game, Los Angeles shot 53 percent and Portland shot just under 43 percent.

"The first half skewed the whole thing," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "The shooting percentages in the first half were very disparate. The third quarter obviously made up for a lot of that in the final tally, but on the whole, we didn't offer much resistance in the first half."

Stotts said the before the game that he anticipating an interesting matchup between perennial All-Star Paul and rookie Lillard, the "old guard and the new guard."

Lillard, quickly building a reputation for his poise in his first year, finished with 16 points. He said Paul spoke to him at times during the game, but it wasn't trash talk: Paul complimented him.

"He can play," Paul said of Lillard after the game. "Portland better hold on to him because they definitely have a prized possession for the future."

NOTES: The Trail Blazers collected donations for the Red Cross to aid victims of Hurricane Sandy. Fans donated over $10,500, while Wells Fargo and the Paul G. Allen foundation each pledged $10,000 for a total of $30,500. ... The Clippers have won seven of their 32 games in Portland. ... The Clippers have won three straight against Portland.

Notebook: Clippers 103, Trail Blazers 90

Kerry Eggers, for NBA.com
Posted Fri Nov 09, 2012 2:51 AM - Updated Fri Nov 09, 2012 9:19 AM

THE FACTS: The Los Angeles Clippers rolled up a 24-point second-quarter lead, saw it trimmed to four points with seven minutes remaining and then regained command in a 103-90 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers Thursday night at the Rose Garden. Jamal Crawford -- who played for Portland a year ago -- came off the bench to lead the Clippers (4-2) with 25 points on 9-for-17 shooting. Center DeAndre Jordan added 21 points and eight rebounds for the visitors. Nicolas Batum scored 16 of his team-high 23 points in the second half and also collected nine rebounds and five assists for Portland (2-3).

QUOTABLE: "We had a letdown, but those guys had a burst of energy [in the second half]. And this is a tough place to play. I put this as one of the top five toughest places to play in the NBA. That's a credit to them and their fans and how they never stop playing."

-- Clippers point guard Chris Paul, who finished with 21 points, six assists and four rebounds.

THE STAT: The Clippers wound up with a huge advantage in field-goal percentage (.532 - .427), rebounds (44-31) and points in the paint (56-30).

TURNING POINT: Portland had closed a 24-point first half deficit to four at 86-82 with seven minutes to play. Then, Crawford and Paul led a 14-3 surge that put the game on ice for the Clippers.

QUOTABLE II: "I was pleased with the way we came back in the second half. We competed and did a lot of good things. But in the first half, we didn't defend, we didn't give much resistance to what [the Clippers] were doing and put ourselves in a hole. The second half was what we need to do every time we're on the court."

-- Portland coach Terry Stotts.

HOT: Crawford, who scored nine straight points in the second half to keep the charging Blazers at bay. Crawford finished 9-for-17, and 6-for-6 from the foul line.

NOT: Batum, especially in the first half, when he shot 2-for-10. He made 4 of his 8 shots in the second half to finish at 6-for-18.

GOOD MOVE: Stotts put Batum on Paul early in the second half. Paul, who had a game-high 13 points in the first half, scored eight points on 3-for-9 shooting in the second half against the 6-foot-8 Batum.

BAD MOVE: Damian Lillard was asleep at the switch in the second quarter when teammate Wesley Matthews tossed the ball to him to put it it in play after a Clippers basket. Paul picked Lillard clean.

QUOTABLE III: "[Lillard] can play. He is aggressive, not scared of anything. Portland better hold onto him. [The Blazers] have a prize possession for the future."

-- Chris Paul on his Portland adversary at point guard, Trail Blazers rookie Lillard, who had 16 points and four assists.

NOTABLE: Jordan's season high of 21 points was only two shy of his career high.

UP NEXT: For the Clippers, Sunday vs. Atlanta, Wednesday vs. Miami, Saturday vs. Chicago. For the Trail Blazers, Saturday vs. San Antonio, Monday vs. Atlanta, Tuesday at Sacramento.

• Clippers: Billups, Hill, Thompkins
• Trail Blazers: Claver, Williams

• Clippers: --
• Trail Blazers: --

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Rose Garden, Portland, OR
• Officials: #49 Tom Washington, #42 Eric Lewis, #29 Mark Lindsay
• Attendance: 20425
• Duration: 2:27