INGLEWOOD, CALIF. — The Portland Trail Blazers’ first road game of the season did not go well.
Kawhi Leonard scored inside and out, Ivica Zubac owned the interior and James Harden finished with a double-double as the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Blazers 114-107 Sunday night at Intuit Dome.
The Clippers seized momentum with a dominant third quarter, during which they held the Blazers to 22 points on 29% shooting, then held on in the fourth to send Portland to a loss in the opener of its three-game trip.
The Blazers (1-2), who have built their identity around defense and pressure, were given a taste of their own medicine by the veteran Clippers (2-1), whose physical, suffocating defense neutralized Portland’s high-octane attack.
Los Angeles held the Blazers to 37% percent shooting, including 27% from three-point range, and blocked eight shots, swatting away Shaedon Sharpe dunks, Toumani Camara layups and everything else in between.
The Clippers’ defense was especially rugged in the second half, when it limited the Blazers to 47 points.
TOP PERFORMERS
Deni Avdija finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Jrue Holiday added 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds and Jerami Grant scored 17 off the bench for the Blazers.
Sharpe added 19 points, but he struggled from the field — yet again — making just 7 of 24 shots, including 1 of 9 threes. He opened the game by making just 2 of 10 shots and had multiple driving layups and dunks swatted away by Los Angeles.
Leonard finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds, Zubac had 21 points and eight rebounds and Harden recorded 20 points, 13 assists and six rebounds for the Clippers.
LUE SAYS BILLUPS ‘CONFIDENT’
While people in the Blazers organization have been urged not to contact Chauncey Billups, the embattled Blazers coach who was indicted last week on charges of money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy, one person at Intuit Dome is under no such restrictions: Tyronn Lue.
The Clippers coach, who has been close to Billups since the two played AAU basketball together as teenagers, said he has spoken to a friend he calls his “brother” and Billups is in good spirts, all things considered.
“When you know somebody so long, you can just tell by … listening to his voice if he’s OK,” Lue said. “He’s confident in what’s going on. The toughest part … for him, like I said, is his family going through it and his daughters. But, other than that, he’s really confident about the situation. So just hearing his voice, I can just see that he’s OK. So that was good to hear.”
Lue, who is Billups’ daughters’ godfather, said he “believes in Chauncey’s character.”
“He has my love and support always,” Lue said.
SECOND QUARTER SURGE
After a sleepy start, the Blazers took off in the second quarter with an impressive and entertaining second-quarter run that had the Clippers spinning.
With a Deni Avdija offensive eruption, a barrage of Blake Wesley pressure and swarming team-wide defense, Portland reeled off a 14-0 run to transform 10-point deficit into a 46-42 lead.
Wesley was a thorn in the Clippers’ side during the burst, which stretch two minutes, 50 seconds, snatching a pair of steals and applying so much relentless pressure, Chris Paul was visibly irritated and Bogdan Bogdanovich was left screaming mad.
Ivica Zubac finally ended the run with a dunk with 5:04 left in the first half, but the Blazers’ hot play lingered. After Donovan Clingan swished a three at the top of the key, Shaedon Sharpe scooped up his own steal and went on a mini run, and Jrue Holiday swished a step-back three, the Blazers sported a 58-46 lead and were cruising.
Portland went on to outscore the Clippers 37-24 in the quarter, building a 60-55 halftime lead.
NEXT UP
The Blazers visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena. It’s the second game of a three-game trip that ends Wednesday at the Utah Jazz.
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