Five things to take from Clippers’ 98-84 loss to Trail Blazers

Clippers Trail Blazers Basketball

Chris Paul, left, is chased down by Maurice Harkless of the Trail Blazers during the first half of Monday’s Game 4 at Portland/AP photo by Criag Mitchelldyer

 

Chris Paul, the Clippers’ best player, sustained a fracture of the third metacarpal of his right hand. There is no definitive word as of yet, but Paul is likely done for the playoffs. “He’s going to get it evaluated tomorrow, but it obviously doesn’t look very good for him,” coach Doc Rivers said post-game.

– That’s not to mention that Blake Griffin was unable to play down the stretch because his left quad tendon, which is still partially torn, began acting up again. Rivers at first said, “It doesn’t look great for him, either,” Rivers a minute later said he would guess that Griffin might be 50-50 for Game 5 on Wednesday at Staples Center. The series is tied 2-2.

– There’s more. J.J. Redick, who is fighting a sore left heel, shot 3 of 13 (for eight points) after shooting 2 of 10 in Game 3. He told reporters at the morning shootaround that the only way it’s going to get better is if he stays in bed for two weeks. He said it’s going to bother him as long as the team is in the playoffs.

– Portland guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum were the difference in Portland’s Game 3 victory. But they were not overwhelming in this one. McCollum had a nice game with 19 points on 6 of 13 shooting, Lillard scored just 12 points on 4 of 15 from the field. Instead, it was forward Al-Farouq Aminu who did in the Clippers with 30 points on 11 of 20 shooting – 6 of 10 from 3-point range.

– There was one bit of good news for the Clippers. Reserve forward Jeff Green had his best game of the post-season. He scored 17 points on 5 of 10 shooting – 3 of 6 from beyond the arc. He also had five rebounds.

BONUS TAKE: The Clippers shot just 35.7 percent from the field – 28 percent (7of 25) from distance.