Blazers turn tables on Clippers with blowout win
Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers passes the ball between Paul George #13 and Luke Kennard #5 of the LA Clippers during the first half at Staples Center on October 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Harry How/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Harry How / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Damian Lillard scored 25 points and Jusuf Nurkic added 14 points and 17 rebounds as the host Portland Trail Blazers rolled to a 111-92 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, avenging a 30-point defeat earlier in the week.
CJ McCollum had 14 points as the Trail Blazers won consecutive games for the first time this season.
Article continues after this advertisement25 PTS and 5 3PM, @Dame_Lillard leads the scoring charge for the @trailblazers in their home win 🔥 pic.twitter.com/KfXT0240tA
— NBA (@NBA) October 30, 2021
On Monday at Los Angeles, the Blazers shot just 21.6 percent from 3-point range while Lillard was 0 of 8 by himself as Portland fell 116-86. It was much different on Friday as the Blazers shot 46.3 percent from long distance while Lillard was 5 of 7.
Paul George had 42 points for the Clippers, who made each of their first six 3-point attempts before struggling from beyond the arc the rest of the way. Luke Kennard had 16 points for Los Angeles, whose only victory in five games was against the Blazers on Monday.
Article continues after this advertisementIt was George’s 18th career game of at least 40 points, and three of them have come against the Blazers.
The Clippers led by as many as 11 in the first quarter before the Blazers began to assert themselves en route to a 48-40 edge at the break. Los Angeles closed out the half making just three of its final 18 attempts from 3-point range.
The Blazers opened their lead to 61-41 as the Clippers started the third quarter 0 of 7 from the field. Los Angeles got within 63-58 on a Kennard 3-pointer, but the Blazers pushed the advantage to 76-67 heading into the fourth quarter.
With a chance to cut the deficit to a single possession, the Clippers’ Reggie Jackson missed a 3-point attempt with 6:46 remaining. Portland then went on a 17-5 run to take a 99-83 lead as they put the game away.
Norman Powell returned from two games away because of a sore knee to score 12 points for the Blazers. Portland’s Larry Nance Jr. had 10 rebounds off the bench.
