Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum (right) both missed Monday’s home loss to the LA Clippers.
Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum missed Monday’s game against the LA Clippers with bruised ribs as Portland lost 102-90.
McCollum, who was injured in Saturday’s home loss to Boston, is averaging 20.6 points and 4.5 assists per game this season. Aside from McCollum being out, Damian Lillard (abdominal tendinopathy), Nassir Little (left ankle sprain) and Anfernee Simons (right ankle sprain) were also all listed as inactive for Monday’s game.
Game Recap: Clippers 102, Trail Blazers 90
Still, Monday’s game was tight throughout. Brandon Boston Jr. hit a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter to give the Clippers an 82-76 lead, but CJ Elleby answered with a 3 for the Blazers to keep it close.
Portland pulled to 88-86 on a pair of free throws from Powell with just under five minutes to go. After Reggie Jackson’s driving layup, Jusuf Nurkic sank a jumper.
Paul George’s dunk put the Clippers up 92-88 with 2:30 left. He added a pull-up jumper and, after Nurkic was assessed a flagrant foul on Isaiah Hartenstein, the Blazers couldn’t get any closer. Jackson finished with 16 points.
“These dudes played hard,” said Blazers coach Chauncey Billups. “And that’s what it’s all about. You play hard and see what happens. I say this all the time: Every team that plays hard no matter what, you give yourselves a chance. And we did that tonight. As shorthanded as we were, we had opportunities to win that game. That’s all you ever want.”
The Clippers’ win gave them a 3-1 edge in the season series as Portland fell to 11-14 overall and 10-4 at home this season. The Blazers have lost three straight and six of their last seven.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
