Prior to Game 4, the Clippers were considered favorites in this first-round series and a strong contender to defeat the Curry-less Golden State Warriors in the next round. Instead, Los Angeles was forced to face harsh new realities and the likelihood of an early exit at the hand of the Trail Blazers.
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LOOK AHEAD
Talking about it and doing it are two completely different things. The Blazers talked about the advantage they were handed in the series when the Clippers were dealt the blow of having Chris Paul and Blake Griffin out for the playoffs. They took advantage of the situation by knocking off the Clips in Los Angeles on Wednesday to take a 3-2 series lead to Portland with a chance to earn a second-round matchup with Golden State Warriors.
Try as they might, the Clippers could not overcome the double-whammy of losing their two biggest stars. Paul broke his right hand on a strange play in Game 4, when Griffin aggravated a quad injury that had kept him out three months during the season. “We were exhausted. I had to call two timeouts in the third quarter. That’s not conditioning, that’s emotion. They wanted to win,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said following Wednesday’s loss.
INJURIES
Paul is out indefinitely with his broken hand while Griffin has been ruled out for the playoffs. That might not be much longer for the Clippers, who could be eliminated on Friday.
KEY MATCHUP
We said at the beginning of the series that the Blazers would need to win the backcourt battle to have any chance in the series. Well, with the loss of Paul, Portland suddenly has the edge in that area and it’s the Clippers’ guards who must shine to extend the series. With a chance to take the series lead with a road win, the Blazers used their backcourt edge in the fourth quarter to pull away for the victory.
As usual, Portland’s fortunes depended largely on the play of point guard Damian Lillard. He struggled early, but responded with a much improved second half and put the game away in the fourth, scoring 16 of his 22 points in the period to lock up the pivotal win. Paul has been Lillard’s kryptonite and with the Clips point guard watching from the sideline in a suit, Lillard has the chance to advance his team to the next round. Lillard and C.J. McCollum forced the issue in the second half and began to get more comfortable against a Clippers rotation not used to playing so many high-pressure minutes.
QUICK PICK
The loss of one superstar could be a rallying point for teams, much like the Clippers upped their play when Griffin was lost for 45 games during the regular season. But losing two stars is downright deflating. Sure, the Clips have talent and if given more time to digest the enormity of their loss, they would probably be just fine. But time is one thing they don’t have.
Playing on emotion in the first half Wednesday, the Clippers kept pace and had the lead at the break. Things settled down in the second half and the Blazers were able to pull away. It was actually a bit surprising that they took so long to take control of the contest from a team starting Austin Rivers and Paul Pierce.
NBA Odds: Portland 108, Los Angeles 99
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Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The contest pitting the Los Angeles Clippers versus the Portland Trail Blazers will commence Friday, April 29, 2016, at 10:30 p.m. ET at the Moda Center. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
