Kevin Arnovitz of TrueHoop.com reports that the Los Angeles Clippers were surprised that Portland Trail Blazers guard Raymond Felton was assigned to guard Chris Paul on the possession that ended with a game-tying lay-up. Blazers forward J.J. Hickson switched on to Paul on the play and Felton got lost defensively in the paint, trapped in no man's land as he tried to figure out what to do. ---------------------------------- In the end, the Clippers needed what they generally require to close out games -- a stroke of genius by Chris Paul. Trailing 97-96 with 13.9 seconds to play, he delivered, per usual. ... To the surprise of both Billups and Paul, the Trail Blazers assigned Raymond Felton to guard Paul on the possession. The Clippers called for a high ball-screen from DeAndre Jordan. As Paul moved left to right in the backcourt against Felton, Jordan's screen was strong. It enabled Paul to stretch Felton, and ultimately draw Hickson on a switch. "What I thought they were going to do is they might trap," Paul said. "But as I saw Raymond Felton go away, I saw an opportunity there." ---------------------------------- -- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter