The Clippers defeated the Blazers 102-90 on the road in Portland behind a strong finish from Paul George and mostly good defense throughout.
Summary
The game was a rough go from the start. Jusuf Nurkic got the Blazers going with some tough shots in the paint, but soon picked up two fouls and went to the bench, at which point Norm Powell took up the scoring mantle. The Clippers, meanwhile, looked mostly bad on offense with too many jumpers and some shaky passing, but were able to clamp in on defense enough to go on a run that put them up by six early. Brandon Boston was the first player off the bench for the Clips and hit two quick threes, but the Blazers answered right back with a run against the primary bench unit, and the Clippers led by just one at the end of the quarter.
The second period was even more of a slog. The Clippers were able to grow their lead slightly through a few Luke Kennard buckets and because the Blazers simply could not score. However, as the starters came back in, Jusuf Nurkic got going once more before picking up his third foul, and then Powell again shortly thereafter. Zu played great defense to wall off the rim, but missed several free throws on the other end, and Marcus Morris and Paul George were ice cold. Ultimately, Powell’s scoring was enough to reverse the first quarter result, giving the Blazers a single point lead entering halftime.
The Clippers stared out with a bit of a spurt, keyed by two Marcus Morris threes that regained them a small lead. Unfortunately, the Blazers came right back, tying it back up behind the brawny shoulders of Nurkic, who bullied the Clippers all quarter. Hartenstein checked in, pick up a foul, and checked out, with Serge Ibaka entering for the first time. Paul George was able to hit a couple shots around the rim, and Morris drained another three, but the Clippers could not contain Powell or Nurkic, and they led by three going to the final frame.
The quarter started on a bad note with Powell going to the free throw line, but the Clippers held the line and the Blazers never took the lead. A key play early in the period was an offensive rebound by Mann off a missed Boston corner three that directly led to another Boston three from the same spot. Sadly, this make got Boston a bit cocky, and he launched a couple ill-advised looks that resulted in a swift benching (along with Bledsoe, who was just dreadful). Reggie Jackson was ice cold, and George not better, but the Blazers were just as frigid, and simply could not get over the hump. Finally, George closed the game out, throwing down a dunk to get the Clippers up four, and then draining a midranger to push the lead to six. On that play, Hartenstein was fouled by Nurkic, and after a brief review, the play was ruled a flagrant. Hartenstein made the free throw and dunked on the following play, putting the Clippers up nine with a couple minutes left to effectively end the game. George had one final dagger, and the Clippers hung on for the 102-90 victory.
Notes
Boston Enters Rotation: Brandon Boston was, as noted above, the first Clippers’ bench player to enter the game in this one. He played 20 minutes, his most rotation minutes by far in the NBA, and scored 13 points on 5-11 shooting, including 3-6 from three. On a less happy note, he did very little else in the box score, with a single rebound and no assists along with three turnovers. Still, he nailed three catch-and-shoot threes, and also showed a little off the bounce skill in transition when he attacked a closeout to get a nice floater to fall. His defense is rough and he’s really just a chucker right now, but if the shooting is legitimate, he can at least be someone Ty Lue can call on in a pinch if the Clippers really need some scoring.
Serge Exits the Rotation: After starting two consecutive games, Serge Ibaka looked on his way to a DNP-CD just after not playing in the second half against the Kings. Considering how well Zubac and Hartenstein have played (even with the fouls), this makes sense. Ibaka is the third-best center on the team right now, and while the big lineup can work at times, it’s not feasible against every time. Therefore, it seems that Serge won’t play in every game going forward, barring injury or Hartenstein falling off.
Bledsoe Rough: This was a tough, tough outing for Eric Bledsoe, whose role continues to shrink. He played only 16 minutes in this one, his fewest of the season thus far, and his third consecutive game under 20 minutes after playing at least 21 minutes in the first 20 games of the season. He scored four points on 2-4 shooting, but was just a non-entity on offense, a non-threat off-ball who couldn’t penetrate the paint due to the Blazers going under every screen. While he continues to be a positive on defense, the offense is so bad that he’s getting passed in the rotation, and runs the risk of fading further when Nic Batum returns.
The Clippers didn’t play well in this one, but had just enough defense and shot-making to carry them to victory against a short-handed Blazers squad. Still, a win is a win, especially on the road, and against a Western Conference foe no less. The Clippers now need to rest up, as they face a surging Boston Celtics team on Wednesday that’s a much different proposition from this Blazers team.