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 The toll of losing Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, the emotions it
extracted and a fourth-quarter scoring binge by Damian Lillard were
too much for the Clippers to handle Wednesday.
CJ McCollum had 27 points, and Lillard scored 16 of his 22 points in
the final period as the Portland Trail Blazers earned a 108-98
victory over the Clippers to take a 3-2 lead in a Western Conference
quarter-final matchup on Wednesday at Staples Center.
"Like they turned their energy up in the beginning of the third
(quarter), and we were exhausted," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said.
"I had to call two timeouts. You could just see it. That's not
conditioning, that was emotion."
Maurice Harkless contributed 19 points and 10 rebounds, Allen Crabbe
added 11 points, and Mason Plumlee and Gerald Henderson chipped in
10 apiece for Portland. Plumlee also grabbed 15 rebounds.
 However, it was Lillard, sinking four of six 3-point attempts in the
final period, who allowed the Trail Blazers to seize control and put
themselves on the verge of securing a second-round matchup with the
defending champion Golden State Warriors.
"That's my entire career in the league," said Lillard, who finished
7-for-20 from the floor and 5-for-10 on 3-pointers. "I've always
been able to put the first three quarters behind me and come up big
when my team has needed it.
"You know, all my teammates throughout the game, they just kept
saying, 'Keep shooting, stay with it, stay aggressive, keep your
mind right,' and I would have been doing that all along, but it was
-- it felt good to have that encouragement and that support,
especially with them trapping so high out."
J.J. Redick had 19 points, while Jamal Crawford scored 17 on 6-of-23
shooting for the Clippers, who played their first game of the series
without Griffin and Paul.
Both were injured on Monday in the Clippers' Game 4 loss at
Portland. DeAndre Jordan collected 16 points, 17 rebounds and three
blocks for Los Angeles.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by McCollum and Lillard, who scored 19 in
the second half, put Portland up 102-86 with 4:13 remaining in the
contest. The Clippers never recovered.
"I think we were doing a good job on Dame Lillard through the course
of the game," Crawford said.
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"The fourth quarter, he just made some tough shots. Guys on him
played great defense, but I think he hit one backboard shot. ...
When he gets going, it gives their whole team confidence."
Rivers started Crawford, the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year, and Paul
Pierce at forward, Jordan at center, and Redick and Austin Rivers in
the backcourt.
The Clippers started slowly and looked like a group that had played
little together in the opening quarter. However, they shook off
their sluggish beginning to build an eight-point lead in the second
quarter. Lillard, though, took over in the fourth.
Game 6 is on Friday at Portland's Moda Center.
"We want to close the series out," McCollum said. "We've got a
unique opportunity here to play an elimination game at home, and we
want to make sure we take full advantage of it."
The Blazers trailed 50-45 at halftime but went on a 10-0 run to open
the third period, taking a five-point advantage after a jumper by
McCollum. Lillard, who managed just three points and missed all five
of his field-goal attempts in the first half, hit his first shot
from the floor -- a 3-pointer -- during the run to give Portland a
51-50 lead.
The Blazers grabbed their largest lead, 71-62, in the third after a
dunk by Plumlee with 2:15 remaining. However, Los Angeles scored the
quarter's final nine points, capped by two Crawford free throws, to
tie the score at 71 heading in the fourth.
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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