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 However, it was Los Angeles' defensive job on guard Damian
Lillard that paved the way for a 100-94 victory over the Portland
Trail Blazers on Wednesday night at the Moda Center.
Lillard finished with 15 points, but Portland's All-Star point guard
got 12 of them in the fourth quarter. He shot 1-for-8 through the
first three periods.
"He has proved this year he's as good as anybody in the NBA," said
Crawford, the one-time Trail Blazer who came off the Los Angeles
bench for 25 points. "He demands a lot of attention.
"Chris was guarding him the majority of the time, but it was going
to be a team effort. Guys did a really good job on him. And he's
such a great player, he still hit impossible shots toward the end."
Paul had 23 points -- hitting 10 straight free throws over the final
4:35 -- and added 10 assists. Jordan collected 17 points on 8-for-8
shooting to go with 18 rebounds for the Clippers, who won for the
sixth time in eight games.
"Tonight, we won defensively," said Paul, who made only six of 18
shots from the field but grabbed six rebounds in addition to chasing
Lillard around. "Lillard is such a great player, a great scorer. It
wasn't just me tonight. We were doubling him, trying to get the ball
out of his hands."
Forward LaMarcus Aldridge had a big night, scoring 37 points and
grabbing 12 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who lost for only the
third time in 16 outings.
"(Aldridge) carried us," said Lillard, who finished 5-for-16 from
the field. "(The Clippers) didn't have an answer for him. When we
executed, he got good looks and made shots. When we didn't, we were
able to throw it down to him, and he was able to make a tough shot.
"It's bittersweet we didn't win the game, especially with an effort
like that from him."
Crawford shot 10-for-22 from the field, nine of his baskets coming
from the perimeter. None was bigger than the 30-foot 3-pointer that
broke an 89-89 tie with 3:58 left, giving Los Angeles (26-13) the
lead for good.
"Seemed like it was in the air for five seconds," Lillard said.
With Crawford (15 first-half points) and Jordan (13 first-half
points) doing much of the damage, the Clippers took a 50-49 lead
into the break. Aldridge was the big gun for Portland, scoring 22
first-half points on 10-for-16 shooting. Crawford hit four straight
rainbow jumpers -- the last one from 3-point range -- to push the
Clippers ahead 41-32 midway through the second quarter.
Forward Meyers Leonard hit a pair of free throws to draw Portland
even at 72-72 with 1:26 left in the third quarter. The teams took
that score into the final period.
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Guard C.J. McCollum's driving layup gave the Blazers a 76-74 edge,
their first since the game's first minute. Portland (30-9) built its
advantage to 85-79 with seven minutes left, but the Clippers scored
six straight to tie it at 85-85 with 5:20 to play.
Lillard drilled a 27-foot 3-pointer, but Paul sank four straight
free throws to put Los Angeles back on top 89-88 with 4:35 to go.
Crawford's bomb from 3-point land made it 92-89 with 3:55 remaining.
Crawford buried an 18-footer to make it 94-89 with 2:05 left, but
Aldridge scored on a fadeaway to cut it to 94-91 with 1:45 to go.
Paul made a pair at the line for a 96-91 Clippers advantage with
1:16 left, then all but wrapped things up with two more gift shots
for a 98-91 edge with 23.6 seconds to go.
"They're one of the better teams in the league," Crawford said. "We
feel we're one of the better teams in the league. There was a lot of
energy in the building. The whole country was watching (on ESPN). It
was a really good game."
NOTES: F LaMarcus Aldridge, C Chris Kaman (15 points, 11 rebounds)
and F Meyers Leonard (11 points, 10 rebounds) gave Portland three
double-doubles for the first time this season. ... The Clippers won
despite scoring only 24 points in the paint. They made 18 of 19 foul
shots and held the Blazers to 6-for-26 shooting from 3-point range.
... Clippers coach Doc Rivers, asked if Portland G Damian Lillard is
making a name for himself: "He's not making a name for himself; he's
already made one. Doesn't he have a new shoe that just came out?
That's impressive. I never had a shoe." What would Rivers' shoe look
like? "It'd be heavy, and it'd be slow," he cracked. ... Rivers, on
PG Chris Paul: "We only ask Chris to guard the best point guard,
score, assist and get 100 steals a game."
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