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Trail Blazers-Clippers Preview

Mar 24, 2016 - 7:03 AM The Portland Trail Blazers gave themselves a little more cushion on a competitive pack of teams in the Western Conference but maintaining that slim edge will require earning a rare road win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Blazers seek just their second victory in nine visits Thursday night when they take on the slumping Clippers.

Portland (37-35) held on for a 109-103 victory against visiting Dallas on Wednesday, splitting its home-and-home set after falling 132-120 in overtime in Sunday's opener.

"I liked our resilience bouncing back from last game," coach Terry Stotts said. "This was certainly a game we needed to have."

The win moved the Blazers 1 1/2 games ahead of Dallas and Utah for sixth place in the West. Only two games separate them from ninth-place Houston.

Point guard Damian Lillard is hoping for better defensive efforts as his team attempts to hang on to a playoff spot. The Blazers had given up an average of 116.7 points while dropping seven of their previous 10 games.

"We are in control of where we want to be if we can finish this thing out the right way, but we have got to defend the way we did (during an 18-4 stretch)," said Lillard, whose team yielded 100.6 points per game in those 22 contests.

"Tonight, we looked like that team. We had a pretty complete game defensively."

To bolster its chances of staying in front of that pack, Portland is trying to earn just its second win in nine road games. The Blazers play just two more contests away from home in their final nine after Thursday's visit to the Clippers (43-27).

Portland lost 102-87 in its other road game against Los Angeles this season Nov. 30 and has dropped the past two overall meetings. The Blazers didn't have C.J. McCollum available in their latest matchup, a 109-98 loss Jan. 6, because his name was inadvertently left off the official roster.

Portland should have its second-leading scorer for this game in its bid to send the Clippers to a season-high fourth consecutive defeat. A 114-98 loss to Golden State in Wednesday's finale to a five-game road trip was also their fifth in six contests.

"We had too many single possessions where we made mistakes, but overall I liked how we played. I loved our energy," coach Doc Rivers said. "I know we played with the right spirit tonight."

Los Angeles, 22-12 at home, has split its 10 games there since the beginning of February. Keeping Lillard in check again could help them earn a victory Thursday.

He has a combined 12 points on 4-of-21 shooting in his last two road games in the series. By contrast, he's scored 47 points in the two meetings in Portland.

McCollum was held to 12 on 4-of-15 shooting in the November defeat at Staples Center.

Los Angeles point guard Chris Paul had 21 points and a season-high 19 assists in the latest matchup with Portland after totaling 21 and 14 in the first two this season.

The Blazers are 5-11 in the second of back-to-back games this season and 3-7 on the road. The Clippers are 9-6 in those situations and had won seven in a row until a 109-105 loss in New Orleans on Sunday.

They're 3-1 this season when the second game has come at home and have won 15 of their last 20 dating back to March 18, 2012.