Trail Blazers lead Clippers 47-43 after awful first half by both teams

Chris Paul

Chris Paul/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

In a rather awful half of basketball, the Portland Trail Blazers took a lead of 47-43 over the Clippers into the break Monday night in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland.

Chris Paul scored the Clippers’ first 12 points. No other player on the team scored until Jeff Green made the second of two free throws with 2:07 left in the first quarter. Paul led the Clippers with 14 points.

J.J. Redick missed his first six shots and finished with three points on 1 of 7. Blake Griffin also started slowly and ended up with seven points and five rebounds and Green and Jamal Crawford scored 10 and seven points off the bench, respectively.

Al-Farouq Aminu led the Trail Blazers with 13 points, Damian Lillard had nine, Maurice Harkless six, Allen Crabbe six and C.J. McCollum five.

The Clippers shot 33.3 percent from the field, Portland shot 35.7 percent. The Trail Blazers also committed 12 turnovers, quite a bit for a half.

Jamal Crawford, on film session: ‘You have to see and hear the truth’

Jamal Crawford

Jamal Crawford/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

The Clippers on Sunday talked about the tough film session they had the day after they lost 96-88 at Moda Center on Saturday in Portland in their first-round playoff series with the Trail Blazers.

Blake Griffin said, “It was a pretty awful film session.” Chris Paul referred to it as “very emotional.”

But they both agreed it was a good thing, at the end of the day. Jamal Crawford concurred at the morning shootaround ahead of Game 4 on Monday night at Moda Center.

“You have to see and hear the truth,” Crawford said. “The camera doesn’t lie, obviously. You have to see the truth.”

Is it tough to take?

“At times,” he said. “But, I mean, it’s the truth, so it’s better for us. As a competitor, you’re line, ‘Dang.’ But it’s much better for us to watch it.”

The Clippers, who lead the series 2-1, led 85-81 with 3:52 to play Saturday before being outscored 15-3.

Mason Plumlee was a rebounding, assist machine for Trail Blazers in Game 3 win over Clippers

Clippers Trail Blazers Basketball

Mason Plumlee of the Portland Trail Blazers is guarded by the Clippers’ Blake Griffin during the first half of the Trail Blazers’ 96-88 victory over the Clippers in Game 3 on Saturday in Portland/AP photo by Craig Mitchelldyer

 

Portland Trail Blazers center Mason Plumlee had a combined 15 rebounds and seven assists in the first two games of his team’s first-round playoff series against the Clippers – both Clippers victories at Staples Center.

Then, almost out of the blue, he came through with a whopping 21 rebounds and nine assists in his team’s 96-88 Game 3 victory over the Clippers on Saturday at Moda Center in Portland.

Plumlee was asked post-game to talk about what it was like having more rebounds than Clippers center DeAndre Jordan – he had 16 – and as many assists as Clippers point guard Chris Paul.

“Probably an awkward stat line,” Plumlee said. “The guys on the bench were giving me a hard time for not getting 10 points. The game is different through adjustments and stuff; they leave certain things open and they take other things away. So, really, they (the Clippers) put me in a good position by them trapping the guards; really, I have an advantage every time I touch the ball, so then it’s just making the right play.”

Plumlee, who scored just six points in the game, averaged 7.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists during the regular season.

Doc Rivers says Trail Blazers played harder, deserved to win

Clippers guard Chris Paul, right, drives to the basket past Portland Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless on Saturday night.
(AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)

Chris Paul, right, is defended by Portland’s Maurice Harkless during Saturday’s game at Moda Center in Portland/AP photo by Craig Mitchelldyer

 

Clippers coach Doc Rivers didn’t want to hear that his team might have lacked focus in its 96-88 loss to Portland on Saturday in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series with the Trail Blazers at Moda Center. He would rather compliment Portland, which is what he did post-game.

“Yeah, it wasn’t the focus,” Rivers said. “It’s so easy when you lose, it’s focus; that’s the easy way. They played hard. They were tougher, they destroyed us on the glass, they ran harder, they got to their spots quicker, they got to the loose balls faster. They played hard, so they deserved to win the game. I really thought they deserved to win the game.”

The Trail Blazers outrebounded the Clippers 56-44. Sixteen of Portland’s rebounds were of the offensive variety, resulting in 18 second-chance points. The Clippers scored 14 points off of their 11 offensive rebounds.

The Clippers lead the series 2-1. It continues with Game 4 Monday night at Moda Center.

Five things to take from Clippers’ 96-88 loss to the Trail Blazers

Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul, right, is fouled by Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard during the first half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Saturday, April 23, 2016, in Portland, Ore.

Chris Paul of the Clippers is fouled by Portland’s Damian Lillard during the first half of the Trail Blazers’ 96-88 victory over the Clippers on Saturday in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series at Moda Center in Portland/AP photo by Craig Mitchelldyer

 

– One of the biggest reasons why the Trail Blazers won was because their outstanding guard tandem of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum played to their capabilities after struggling in losses to the Clippers in Game 1 and Game 2. Lillard scored 32 points on 10 of 20 shooting and went 9-for-9 from the free-throw line. McCollum scored 27 points on 11 of 22 shooting. Each had five rebounds.

– It was more than that. For another thing, the Trail Blazers outrebounded the Clippers 56-44. Leading the way was center Mason Plumlee. He had a whopping 21 rebounds to go along with nine assists and six points. The Clippers got 16 rebounds from their center, DeAndre Jordan. Blake Griffin had only seven.

– The Clippers led 85-81 with 3:52 to play after a 3-point play by sixth-man Jamal Crawford. They scored only three points the rest of the way. During that time, the poor free-throw shooting Jordan went 1 of 6 from the free-throw line, finishing 3 of 10 from there. “Our execution was bad tonight,” coach Doc Rivers said of his team’s play down the stretch.

– This was not a good game for Griffin. The Clippers’ power forward scored 12 points and shot just 5 of 16. At times, his shot was short, hitting the front of the rim. “He just had a tough night,” Rivers said. “Again, you don’t miss three months of basketball and come back and be great.”

– As a team, the Clippers shot 40.9 percent – 16.7 percent (3 of 18) from 3-point range. Rivers gave credit to the Portland defense. “I thought they did a great job,” he said. “I think they were way more physical than us. I thought ball pressure got to us.” Shooting guard J.J. Redick, who is nursing a sore left heel, shot 2 of 10.

BONUS TAKE: The loss notwithstanding, Clippers point guard Chris Paul continued his fine play. He led the Clippers with 26 points on 10 of 21 shooting, doled out nine assists and made three steals.

LASTLY: The Clippers lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Monday night, back at Moda Center in Portland.

Portland guards lead Trail Blazers to 49-40 halftime lead over Clippers

Chris Paul

Chris Paul/Photo courtesy of Los Angeles Clippers

 

Portland guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, who struggled mightily against the Clippers in the first two games of their first-round playoff series, scored a respective 16 and 17 points in the first half Saturday as the Trail Blazers took a lead of 49-40 over the Clippers into halftime in Game 3 at Moda Center in Portland. The Clippers lead the series 2-0.

Lillard shot 5 of 10, McCollum 7 of 12.

Chris Paul led the Clippers with 13 points, Blake Griffin scored eight and DeAndre Jordan had six points and nine rebounds. Sixth-man Jamal Crawford shot 2 of 8 in the half, scoring four points.