Paul George, Reggie Jackson Power Clippers to Win vs. Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers
Paul George's 24-point, nine-rebound, seven-assist evening led the Los Angeles Clippers to a 117-109 win over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday at Staples Center.
The Clippers hit 16 of 30 three-pointers as Reggie Jackson (23 points) and Nicolas Batum (22) complemented George's efforts.
Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard added 27 points to lead all scorers.
The 6-4 Clippers have won five straight games. The 5-6 Blazers have lost four of six.
Notable Performances
Blazers PG Damian Lillard: 27 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds
Blazers SF Norman Powell: 23 points
Blazers C Jusuf Nurkic: 15 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists
Clippers F Paul George: 24 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists
Clippers G Reggie Jackson: 23 points, 6 assists
Clippers G/F Nicolas Batum: 22 points, 6 rebounds
Clippers' Top Trio Too Much for Blazers
All five Clippers starters scored 11 or more points, and the trio of Batum, George and Jackson combined to score 69 points on 27-of-53 shooting (12-of-20 from three-point range).
In the end, that firepower was a bit too much for the Blazers to handle.
Batum in particular was sensational, dropping in 6-of-8 from deep, including five in the second half.
He's on a torrid stretch of late, as StatMuse noted:
George continued to make his early case for a spot on the All-NBA First Team with another strong outing.
He did work everywhere on the court, between knocking down threes, playing tough defense and finishing strong in the lane, like so on this third-quarter bucket:
Jackson continued to crush his opponents, and he now has averaged 22.8 points per game in his last four contests. He's also shot 42.5 percent from three-point range after going 3-of-5 on Tuesday.
This one from the Staples Center logo cut the Blazers' first-quarter lead to one.
The Clippers have fared well even without two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, who continues to recover from a partially torn ACL. A big part of that is because of George's leadership, which Batum touted postgame.
"He knows how to adjust, he know when to takeover, take shots, play for the other guys," Batum told reporters.
With that, everyone seems to be in sync as the offense remains on fire. George has played the biggest role, but Jackson, Batum and others have done their part as the Clippers continue their surge up the standings.
Late 8-0 Clippers Run Seals Portland's Fate
Despite the Clippers' hot shooting, the Blazers were still in this one late.
Lillard continues to put his early season slump in the rearview mirror by scoring his 27 points on 11-of-23 shooting. Norman Powell got hot and dropped 23 on 8-of-13 shooting, and the double-double machine known as Jusuf Nurkic continued his post dominance with a 15-point, 13-rebound evening.
With all that, the Blazers found themselves down just 103-100 with 3:39 left following a Nurkic three.
However, Portland couldn't get it done on either end down the stretch.
Jackson missed a layup, but Ivica Zubac was right there for the putback and 105-100 lead.
A six-point swing then occurred as Lillard missed a three before Batum drilled one of his own for a 108-100 edge.
Portland then had three possessions to cut the Blazers' lead down to five or six but came up empty each time. George effectively put this one away with another tough three-point play for a 111-100 lead with 1:22 left.
Credit to Portland for hanging with the hot-shooting Clippers, who were tough to keep pace with as they made more than half their three-pointers. In the end, that was the difference in this game.
Portland had its chance, but it couldn't get the needed buckets and stops down the stretch as the Clippers were able to finish them off late.
What's Next?
The Blazers will continue their four-game road trip with a Wednesday matchup against the Phoenix Suns at 9 p.m. ET at the Footprint Center.
The Clippers' six-game homestand will now feature a date with the Miami Heat on Thursday at 10:30 p.m. ET.
