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 The Clippers guard scored a season-high 41 points and matched his
season high with 17 assists in a come-from-behind 126-122 victory
Wednesday night.
Guard J.J Redick scored 25 points and equaled his season high with
eight rebounds and forward Blake Griffin collected 24 points, seven
rebounds and eight assists for the Clippers (50-26), who moved a
game in front of the Trail Blazers (48-26) in the Western Conference
playoff standings.
Forward LaMarcus Aldridge scored 29 points, forward Nicolas Batum
added 21 points and guard Damian Lillard contributed 18 points and
10 assists for the Blazers, who led by as many as 19 points in the
first half and were still in front by 14 late in the third quarter.
Paul was sensational, sinking 13 of 21 shots from the field, 5 of 9
from 3-point range and 10 of 10 at the free-throw line. Paul -- who
scored 25 points in the second half -- finished with five assists,
four steals and only one turnover in 39 minutes.
"Chris had a terrific game both halves," Portland coach Terry Stotts
said. "He had two games in one."
The Clippers shot .535 from the field and .536 (15-for-28) from
3-point range. The Blazers also finished above 50 percent in both
categories -- .506 from the field and .520 (13 for 25) on 3-point
tries.
"They were flawless for a quarter and a half," Clippers coach Doc
Rivers said. "They got every shot they wanted. A lot of it was them
and a lot of it was us.
"My whole thought was to stay in striking distance. And in the third
quarter, once we got (the deficit) under the 10-point mark, we felt
good."
The Clippers shot .571 in the second half and drilled 8 of 15
3-point attempts.
"We played really well in the first half and had a (19-point) lead,
but we let them pretty much control the rest of the game," Lillard
said. "We let them hit 3s and didn't get rebounds when we needed
them, and it came back to bite us."
Aldridge scored 20 points and Batum had 15 points on 5-for-5
shooting -- 3-for-3 from 3-point range -- to stake Portland, which
was on top 51-32 midway through the second quarter, to a 13-point
lead at intermission. The Blazers shot .609 (28-for-46) in the half.
Portland held an 88-74 advantage late in the third quarter, but Paul
knocked down a pair of foul shots after a flagrant foul on Portland
center Chris Kaman, then sank two more while being fouled on the way
to the hoop to cut the difference to 92-85 heading into the fourth
quarter.
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The Clippers kept coming. Forward Hedo Turkoglu started a barrage of
five 3-pointers in less than five minutes, the last one giving them
a 106-100 lead. When Paul knocked down another shot from beyond the
arc, the Blazers trailed 114-103 with 3:03 to play.
Portland battled back, Aldridge's three-point play cutting the lead
to 122-117 with 44 seconds left. Aldridge sank a pair at the line to
trim the difference to 122-119 with 19.5 seconds to go.
Paul hit two foul shots with 8.5 seconds on the clock, but Portland
guard CJ McCollum came back with a 3 to cut the Clippers' edge to
124-122 with 5.4 seconds remaining. Paul wrapped it up by making two
more at the line with 5.1 ticks left.
"Just a gutsy win," Paul said. "Any time Portland went on a run, we
might have said, 'All right, y'all can have this one,' but we just
stayed the course."
NOTES: Portland's magic number to claim the Northwest Division
championship is one (victory or Oklahoma City loss). ... The
Clippers won the season series with the Blazers 3-1. ... Portland F
Dorell Wright suffered a fracture of the fourth metacarpal bone in
his left hand. His status is to be determined. ... Aldridge scored
16 of his points in the first quarter on 7-for-11 shooting, then
went 3-for-11 the rest of the way. ... Doc Rivers, on coaching son
Austin with the Clippers: "It's not been that difficult, to be
honest. It's been relatively normal. He's just another guy who won't
listen to me." ... Clippers G Jamal Crawford, who has missed the
last 15 games with a deep bone bruise in his right calf, said he is
getting closer to a return. "It's feeling better," he said. "I'd
like to get back for the last couple of (regular-season) games."
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