Final
Blazers have hands full vs. Clippers
Jan 14, 2015 - 2:55 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Portland Trail Blazers will try to defend their four-game winning streak Wednesday night when the Los Angeles Clippers visit the Moda Center.The Blazers recently completed a seven-game homestand at 6-1, then knocked off the Los Angeles Lakers on the road on Sunday. They've won eight of their last nine with the only setback coming at home versus the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 3.
Portland, which has taken two straight as the visitor, handled the Lakers, 106-94. Kobe Bryant didn't suit up for the Lakers, but Damian Lillard did for the Blazers.
Lillard had 17 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter as the Trail Blazers pulled away. Lillard also finished with seven assists and shot 13-for-23 from the floor and 4-for-8 from long range.
"Damian finished with a flurry, which was fun to watch," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said.
LaMarcus Aldridge posted 15 points and nine rebounds, while Wesley Matthews added 16 points and five assists for Portland. Nicolas Batum chipped in 11 and Meyers Leonard managed 10 off the bench.
Wednesday night begins a tough stretch for the Blazers. They visit the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, then head to Memphis to face the Grizzlies on Saturday.
"I think it's human nature to get up for good teams, regardless of which conference. No matter who it is," Stotts told OregonLive.com after practice on Tuesday. "If we're playing one of the top teams in the East we get up for that. I think it's kind of in our nature as players and coaches that we understand the importance of it relative to the standings in the Western Conference."
The Blazers are second in the Western Conference, just 1 1/2 games behind the Golden State Warriors.
The Clippers are currently sixth out west and completed a nine-game homestand at 6-3. They closed the residency with a disappointing, 104-90 loss to the Miami Heat.
Blake Griffin had 26 points and Chris Paul scored 23 with nine assists for the Clippers. Miami took the lead for good at the end of the first quarter and maintained a double-digit edge through much of the game.
"I thought we came out with pretty good energy to start the game," said Clippers coach Doc Rivers. "After that our energy went way down and we never could get it back."
Now, the Clippers will try and get back on track against the league's best team in terms of opponents' scoring and rebounding.
"I think where they've had the biggest jump is in their defense," Rivers said. "They're so much better. Last year they were a great offensive team and they struggled defensively. This year they're a great offensive team and they're very, very good defensively."
The Clippers beat the Blazers by four in LA on Nov. 8 and are 7-3 in the last 10 meetings between the teams. Portland has won the last three encounters as the host.
- LOS ANGELES: 100
PORTLAND: 94
Final
Jan 15 1:04 AM - 201
rootsRUWTbot Added 5 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Clippers 94, Trail Blazers 91 4th - 1:43Jan 15 12:53 AM - 196
roots - 230
rootsRUWTbot Added 12 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Clippers 87, Trail Blazers 88 4th - 4:38Jan 15 12:43 AM - 218
rootsRUWTbot Added 29 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Clippers 86, Trail Blazers 88 4th - 4:53Jan 15 12:42 AM - 189
rootsRUWTbot Took away 35 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Clippers 85, Trail Blazers 88 4th - 5:08Jan 15 12:42 AM - 224
rootsRUWTbot Added 28 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Clippers 83, Trail Blazers 85 4th - 5:56Jan 15 12:41 AM - 196
rootsRUWTbot Added 9 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Clippers 81, Trail Blazers 85 4th - 5:56Jan 15 12:40 AM - 187
rootsRUWTbot Added 31 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Clippers 81, Trail Blazers 85 4th - 6:35Jan 15 12:39 AM - 156
rootsRUWTbot Took away 31 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Clippers 79, Trail Blazers 85 4th - 6:41Jan 15 12:39 AM - 187
rootsRUWTbot Added 10 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Clippers 77, Trail Blazers 80 4th - 7:55Jan 15 12:34 AM - 177
rootsRUWTbot Took away 24 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Clippers 77, Trail Blazers 80 4th - 8:03Jan 15 12:34 AM - 201
rootsRUWTbot Added 21 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Clippers 76, Trail Blazers 78 4th - 8:59Jan 15 12:32 AM - 180
rootsRUWTbot Took away 26 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Clippers 74, Trail Blazers 78 4th - 9:19Jan 15 12:28 AM - 206
rootsRUWTbot Added 13 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Clippers 74, Trail Blazers 76 4th - 9:59Jan 15 12:27 AM - 193
rootsRUWTbot Took away 5 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Clippers 74, Trail Blazers 76 4th - 10:15Jan 15 12:27 AM - 198
rootsRUWTbot Added 14 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Clippers 74, Trail Blazers 72 4th - 11:20Jan 15 12:26 AM - LOS ANGELES: 72
PORTLAND: 72
End of 3rd
Jan 15 12:21 AM - 184
rootsRUWTbot Added 16 roots (Individual Performance)
Clippers 72, Trail Blazers 72 3rd - 0:33Jan 15 12:20 AM - 168
rootsRUWTbot Added 16 roots (Individual Performance)
Clippers 72, Trail Blazers 70 3rd - 2:09Jan 15 12:18 AM - 152
rootsRUWTbot Added 12 roots (Individual Performance)
Clippers 72, Trail Blazers 69 3rd - 2:09Jan 15 12:17 AM - 140
rootsRUWTbot Took away 11 roots (Individual Performance)
Clippers 70, Trail Blazers 66 3rd - 3:34Jan 15 12:12 AM - 151
rootsRUWTbot Added 8 roots (Individual Performance)
Clippers 68, Trail Blazers 66 3rd - 3:51Jan 15 12:11 AM - 143
rootsRUWTbot Added 15 roots (Individual Performance)
Clippers 68, Trail Blazers 65 3rd - 3:52Jan 15 12:11 AM - 128
rootsRUWTbot Added 6 roots (Individual Performance)
Clippers 68, Trail Blazers 64 3rd - 4:36Jan 15 12:09 AM - 122
rootsRUWTbot Added 7 roots (Individual Performance)
Clippers 66, Trail Blazers 63 3rd - 5:34Jan 15 12:07 AM - 115
rootsRUWTbot Added 7 roots (Individual Performance)
Clippers 66, Trail Blazers 61 3rd - 5:56Jan 15 12:07 AM - 108
rootsRUWTbot Added 8 roots (Individual Performance)
Clippers 64, Trail Blazers 59 3rd - 6:43Jan 15 12:01 AM - 100
rootsRUWTbot Added 7 roots (Individual Performance)
Clippers 59, Trail Blazers 57 3rd - 8:57Jan 14 11:58 PM - 93
rootsRUWTbot Added 6 roots (Individual Performance)
Clippers 56, Trail Blazers 51 3rd - 10:27Jan 14 11:55 PM - LOS ANGELES: 50
PORTLAND: 49
Halftime
Jan 14 11:36 PM - LOS ANGELES: 27
PORTLAND: 21
End of 1st
Jan 14 11:03 PM - LOS ANGELES: 0
PORTLAND: 0
1st Quarter - 12:00
Jan 14 10:41 PM
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