Los Angeles Clippers vs. Portland Blazers: Live Score, Highlights and Reaction
Chris Paul scored a season-high 41 points and had 17 assists, J.J. Redick scored 25 and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied to stun the Portland Trail Blazers, 126-122, at the Moda Center on Wednesday night.
The Clippers had to climb out of a 19-point deficit to earn the win.
The Blazers got off to a great start early, taking a 33-26 lead after the first quarter thanks to LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge scored 16 of his 29 points in the opening frame, burning Los Angeles with post-ups, jumpers and free throws.
Portland would stretch its lead to 19 in the second period. The Clippers were looking weary coming off a Tuesday night loss to the Golden State Warriors.
By halftime, Los Angeles had shaved six points off the lead and went into the locker room trailing 68-55.
The Clippers made a run in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to five points. However, the Blazers quickly rebounded, going back up by 14 and appearing to have the victory in sight.
A Chris Kaman flagrant foul changed things.
Near the end of the third period, Kaman shoved Paul out of bounds on a rebound, resulting in a flagrant-1. Paul would sink both free throws and proceeded to make two more after being fouled on the ensuing possession.
Portland took a 92-85 lead into the final frame, but that lead was short-lived.
Thanks to a barrage of three-pointers, the Clippers stormed out in front. They buried four three-pointers in a row during one span to take a 106-100 lead midway through the period.
Los Angeles would lead by as much as 11 late, thanks to Paul's incredible play down the stretch.
The Blazers fought back, though, forcing Paul to ice the game with two free throws with 5.1 seconds remaining. Paul did just that, giving his team a 126-122 lead that would end up being the final score.
Paul went 13-of-21 from the floor, going 5-of-9 from three-point range.
As a team, the Clippers shot 15-of-28 from downtown. Even Blake Griffin, who scored 24 points, made a pair of triples.
Nicolas Batum added 21 for Portland, which went 13-of-25 from distance itself.
The Clippers will get a few days off before traveling to the Mile High City to take on the Denver Nuggets Saturday night at 9 p.m. ET.
Meanwhile, the Blazers will head to the Staples Center to take on the other L.A. team, the Los Angeles Lakers, at 9:30 p.m. ET Friday night.
