The Portland Trail Blazers will enter the All-Star break losing eight of their last 13 games as they fell to the Los Angeles Clippers 122-117. The Blazers are now 36-17 on the season and 17-11 on the road. The Clippers improve to 37-18 and are an impressive 23-4 at home. The Blazers are now tied with two teams for the third seed in the Western Conference. It is getting heated.
This was another one of those games that makes you shake your head and wonder where the early season magic has gone. Blazer fans miss the days of the extra pass and the open three-point shots and not having to take off-balance three-pointers just in the hopes of getting a foul call. Fans miss the days when the Blazers were able to use the entire shot clock to their advantage instead of using 15 seconds of it trying to get it into LA. All that being said the All-Star break could not have come soon enough. Tired legs were noticeable towards the end of this game and had everyone yearning for it to be over.
Okay, deep breath. Like the OKC and Indiana games, this one was close throughout. This game featured 40, count them 40, lead changes. Anybody remember the Clipper game here in Portland in December? This had a very similar feel to it, except it was Blake Griffin who seemed to have an answer for every Portland attack. You cannot really blame anybody in particular for this loss. The bench played well as they provided 31 points. LaMarcus Aldridge rebounded from his awful shooting night and Damian Lillard was a marksman as he only missed four shots on the night. It was the spotty shot selection at the end of the game. At some points it seemed like the Blazers just gave in on the possession. Batum, in particular, missed three three-pointers in the span of two and a half minutes, one of them being an off-balance attempt to try and draw the foul. It just seemed like the Blazers were done towards the end. Chucking up three-pointers in the hopes that it would go in and not even trying to find LA or get a better shot. You can say what you want about the officiating at the end, but this was all on Portland.
The only glaring quarter difference was the fourth as the Clippers finally broke out and outscored the Blazers 30-22. Blake Griffin had a phenomenal game finishing with 36 points on 13-for-21 shooting and 10 rebounds. Chris Paul was also impressive as he finished with 20 points on 10-for-15 shooting and 12 assists. Jamal Crawford finished with 25 points.
Tonight saw the return of the Blazer’s three-pointer as they finished going 13-for-31 and shot 42% on the night. On top of that they shot 51% from the field. You may ask, what happened? The Clippers had a staggering 34 fast break points all while scoring 58 points in the paint. Portland also turned the ball over 16 times to the Clippers’ 8. Taking care of the basketball and stopping the transition bit the Blazers tonight.
This was game was not without its positive points statistically. I said above that LA and Damian Lillard both had terrific nights statistically. LA finished with 25 points on 10-for-18 shooting, but was only able to corral 3 rebounds. Damian Lillard finished with 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting, 3-for-5 from three and had 5 assists, but with 6 turnovers.
This game also featured another solid performance from rookie C.J. McCollum as he finished with 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting, 3-for-4 from three. McCollum is continuing to show the Blazers why he deserves playing time. He has become a real scoring punch and threat, especially from three-point land. His driving ability and speed is also quite impressive for a rookie.
Mo Williams returned to the team after missing three games due to personal reasons. He finished with 7 points on 3-for-8 shooting and had 4 assists.
Well, time to take a break. The Blazers will get some much, much needed rest as their next game won’t be till the 19th when they take on the San Antonio Spurs at the Moda Center at 7:00 p.m. PST. Enjoy watching Portland’s two All-Stars this weekend, especially Damian Lillard who is making history competing in all five events. Stay tuned!