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The Clippers, firing on all cylinders on both ends of the court, lead wire-to-wire to hand Portland its second blowout loss of the month. Barely competitive for half a quarter, the Blazers were out-played in every facet of the game and lose 111-80.
The Blazers were led by Shabazz Napier with 11 points and Jake Layman with 9 points and your dunk of the night. The Clippers were led by Blake Griffin with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Recap
The Clippers did pretty much did anything they wanted against the Blazers defense. Hit some threes? Check. Pull up jumpers? Check. Easy points in the paint? Check. Get to the free throw line? Check. Hitting their first six shots on five assists, the Cips raced out to 14-6 lead that grew to as much as 20 late. Any misses the Clippers did manage, Blake Griffin seemed to find on the offensive rebound. LA bullied the Blazers on the boards and dominated the points in the paint battle 20-12. Offensively, the Blazers were unwatchable as LA’s defense was just as manic as their offense, taking away any and all of Portland’s arsenal. Like Hillary Clinton’s Presidential bid last night, this game was fading away fast.
End of First: Portland 16, LA Clippers 36
The Blazers were basically on a siesta during the second quarter. The Clippers consistantly ran around a stagnant group of five professional basketball players in Blazers uniforms. The lead would grew to 30+ points before Moe Harkless hit Portland’s first three in 11 Blazer attempts. Allen Crabbe and Evan Turner tried to amount to something for Portland’s second unit, but it was the Clippers bench again, as it was the first meeting of the season, that dominated Portland’s suddenly lackluster depth. Mason Plumlee punished the front of the rim for most of the half. Damian Lillard looked a little banged up, having his first major sub-par performance of the season; those two, with Noah Vonleh inserted into the starting the lineup for the injured Al-Farouq Aminu, combined for 3-19 from the field. The Clippers dominated every category of the stat sheet, running away with this one by halftime.
Halftime: Portland 32, LA Clippers 61
Another downer of a third period. 71-35 was the score after the first timeout, and yet the Clippers still had the good sense of mind to keep complaining about calls and non-calls alike. LA continued to strangle Portland’s offense and do as they willed on offense. By the time lead reached 40, it was officially time to worry about record-setting losses, the largest being 65 to the Indiana Pacers back in 1998. Portland showed little effort in slowing down the Clippers. Portland hit only 16 of their first 60 shots. They were being out-rebounded 45-33, out-hustled 18-4 on fast break points and outscored in the paint 42-26.
End of Third: Portland 50, Memphis 93
Jake Layman entered the game but couldn’t quite re-capture the magic from a few games ago in Portland’s last blowout loss against the Golden State Warriors, though he did have a nice highlight worthy jam that got the crowd cheering. Vonleh showed some team spirit in the period as he grabbed double digit rebounds to go along with Meyers Leonard’s 10 boards. It was garbage time, however, for the entire quarter and the Blazers will have to re-group on both ends of the court before next game. On the bright side, that 65-point loss is still safe in the history books.
What's Next
The Blazers will nurse their wounds before returning home Friday night to face the Sacramento Kings. Tip off is at 7 pm. Stay tuned to Blazer's Edge tonight, for extended analysis of this game from Eric Griffith.