Damian Lillard says Blazers were prepared for Clippers in Game 1

 

Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul, right, is pressured

Damian Lillard, left, of Portland pressures the Clippers’ Chris Paul during the Clippers’ 115-95 victory over the Trail Blazers on Sunday night at Staples Center/AP photo by Jae C. Hong

 

Damian Lillard and his Portland Trail Blazers had just been routed 115-95 by the Clippers in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series Sunday night at Staples Center. He was asked if, as the leader of his team, he needs to do anything more to get his teammates ready for Game 2 on Wednesday night.

“No, I thought we were ready,” said Lillard, who scored a team-high 21 points but shot just 7 of 17. “Everybody was ready mentally, everybody was locked in. In the first half, we played them really well; we were right there. We had the lead and they had a little bit of a run in the first half and we were down eight. In the second half, that’s when they really separated themselves.”

The Trail Blazers led 40-39 with 4:41 left in the second quarter, but were outscored 11-2 by the Clippers to trail 50-42 at halftime. The Clippers led by 21 (81-60) with 1:11 left in the third and by as many as 23 three times in the fourth.