|
 Playing at Staples Center for the second straight night following their 96-83 loss to the Lakers, the Blazers blew a 14-point lead after squandering a 15-point advantage against the Lakers and a 17-point margin in Sunday's home loss to Boston.
Corey Maggette scored 32 points for the Clippers, but missed a potential go-ahead basket with 8 seconds remaining as Los Angeles lost at home to Portland for the first time in eight tries.
Thomas sank two free throws with 5:28 left in the third, capping a 16-3 run and tying the score at 45. But the Blazers took a 58-57 lead into the fourth on Von Wafer's 3-pointer with a second on the clock.
The lead changed seven more times before Jack's 3-pointer gave Portland a 75-73 lead with 3:41 to play. Cuttino Mobley responded with a 3-pointer 16 seconds later, after missing eight of his first nine shots. Aldridge then sank two free throws and added a short baseline hook to give Portland a 79-76 edge with 1:36 left.
After two free throws by Clippers rookie Al Thornton, Jack leaned back and drained a fadeaway 22-footer from the top of the key to give Portland an 81-78 lead. Maggette hit a 13-footer, and the Clippers had a chance to go back in front when Jack missed two free throws with 11.1 seconds to go. But Maggette grazed the rim from 15 feet on a wide-open shot after losing Travis Outlaw.
Wafer made one of two at the other end, and Maggette was way off from 33 feet on an off-balance attempt at a buzzer-beating 3-point attempt.
Portland is 10th overall in the Western Conference, 4 1-2 games behind Denver and five behind Golden State for the eighth and final seed. The first nine teams are separated by just six games.
[to top of second column] |
Travis Outlaw, who came off the bench in Portland's first 56 games, made his second straight start in place of the injured Brandon Roy and missed eight of his first nine shots. Roy was back in Portland resting his sprained right ankle, which he reaggravated in Sunday's loss against Boston. The Blazers' next game will be Friday night at home against the Western Conference-leading Lakers.
Los Angeles outscored Portland 28-16 in the third quarter, marking the eighth time in nine games that the Blazers scored fewer than 20 in that period. Portland's Joel Pryzbilla picked up two fouls 64 seconds apart, giving him four for the game and a seat on the bench for the final 10:44 of the quarter.
Notes: The win was Portland's first against the Clippers on the road since Dec. 18, 2002, when they erased a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit behind Scottie Pippen and Rasheed Wallace. ... Eight players on Portland's roster were among the top 10 picks in their respective drafts, including Greg Oden and Darius Miles, who haven't played this season following microfracture surgery on their right knees.
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
|
