|
 Lillard scored 26 points and McCollum added 20 as the Trail
Blazers closed out the Clippers in six games in their first-round
playoff series.
Mason Plumlee contributed nine points -- including the deciding
three free throws in the final 14.7 seconds -- and grabbed 14
rebounds for Portland, which opens Western Conference semifinals
play Sunday at Golden State.
Jamal Crawford came off the bench for a career playoff-high 32
points for the Clippers, but missed on a driving layup that could
have tied the game in the closing seconds. Austin Rivers collected
22 points, eight assists and six rebounds while DeAndre Jordan had
15 points and 20 boards for the losers.
Portland took a 50-48 lead into the half despite 22 points by
Crawford. Lillard had 14 points and McCollum 11 for the Blazers.
 Luc Mbah a Moute's three-point play and Redick's 3-point shot gave
the Clippers a 58-53 advantage early in the third quarter. Al-Farouq
Aminu, Lillard and Mo Harkless followed with consecutive 3s and the
Blazers used an 11-2 run to go ahead 64-60. The Clippers took an
82-80 advantage into the final period.
Portland led only 88-87 with seven minutes remaining, but the
Blazers increased the margin to 98-91 on a McCollum with 4:49 to
play. Jordan's tip-in closed it to 98-93, and Redick knocked in a
jumper to close the gap to 98-95 with 2:50 left.
McCollum stroked a 3-pointer to increase Portland's lead to 101-95
with 2:16 remaining, but Redick scored on a runner to close it to
101-97 with 1:58 to play.
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Lillard made a pair at the line to push the difference to 103-97
with 1:37 left. Crawford converted a drive, Redick scored on a
reverse layup and Crawford made two foul shots, and suddenly it was
103-103 with 32.1 seconds left.
Plumlee was fouled and made both free-throw attempts to make it
105-103 with 14.7 seconds to play. Crawford failed to convert a
drive at the other end, and Plumlee made 1 of 2 at the line with 1.5
ticks left. Rivers' desperation 3-point heave was short at the
buzzer.
The Clippers got a 14-9 jump on the Blazers, who made only 4 of
their first 13 shots from the field.
Portland responded with a 13-3 spur to go on top 22-17. The teams
were tied 24-24 heading into the second quarter, with Lillard
scoring 14 of the Blazers' points.
The Clippers led 30-26 early in the second quarter and were still in
front 38-37 midway through the period.
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