INGLEWOOD, Calif.- It is a battle for 8th place at Intuit Dome and the Los Angeles Clippers were looking for another win after picking one up in Milwaukee while being led by Bennedict Mathurin and his 28 point performance but it was not the same story this time as they fell short to Portland Trailblazers in 104-114 defeat.
The game may have started with Portland scoring the first two points of the game but Clippers Center Brook Lopez retaliated with a three, marking the first one of the game and a testament to him having to fill in some big shoes with Ivica Zubac gone.
The three was later followed by a huge dunk in the sixth minute by Clippers Forward John Collins after a rebound and an assist from Jones Jr. to get a one point deficit early in the first quarter. The heat from the Bucks game has not worn off as Collins decided to harden the blow with a three right after the great dunk.
By the end of the quarter, it became a neck and neck fight after an unfortunate bad turn over from Garland gave away a three to Trailblazer Point Guard Jrue Holiday but right after, Collins gave the Clippers another three to bring their momentum back up. Unfortunately, it would not be enough as Holiday would claim the first quarter for Portland with a final three making it 31-34 Portland.
With nine minutes left in the second quarter, Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard drove in for a shot but got fouled as he got his point. Nonetheless, the forward with a 90% season accuracy would later miss his free throw. To make matters worse, with 7 minutes left in the quarter, Portland’s Deni Avdija would get a three pointer in to further cement their momentum.
With Portland slightly outsizing each player in their matchup, they would end the second quarter leading by a whopping 16 points with Portland forwards Avdija and Camara tied for top scorer of the half with 15 points each.
Clippers would start their third quarter rough with a foul against Portland Center Clingan, granting him an opportunity to rack up some more points but was later missed.
As Clippers continued to struggle, a rare Kawhi turnover gave Portland Forward Deni Avdija a steal and assist to Clingan’s beautiful and aggressive dunk making the score 56-69 Portland with 8 minutes left in the third quarter.
Trailblazer continued to dominate throughout the third with Avdija continuing his form with 26 points and to make a lasting final sting of the quarter, Portland’s Scoot Henderson gets a fast buzzer beater three from a stepback jump shot, making the score 91-74 Portland.
Going into the fourth quarter, The Clippers were close to clawing their way back and shortly maintained a higher field goal percentage(48%-45%) but despite their efforts, they continued to fall short to Portland’s killer defense.
While Los Angeles put in the effort, Portland made sure to close it all out for the Clips. Final score, 114 to 104, Portland.
“We’re not good enough, with the small line up we have,” Clippers Head Coach Tyronn Lue said as he took responsibility for a seemingly incomplete squad.
The Clippers are set to face the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday April 2nd.
Article and Photos by Henry Caceres for the LA Momentum
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