Chris Paul stars as Los Angeles Clippers trump Portland Trail Blazers 93 – 88: NBA Recap
The Los Angeles Clippers won a close game against the Portland Trail Blazers 93 – 88 thanks to some big plays at the end by super star point guard Chris Paul.
CP3 delighted the Staples Center crowd with vision and craft throughout the game and proved to be the difference when push came to shove at the end.
Chris put up solid numbers with 17 points and 7 assists but more impressive was the way he marshalled the backcourt for Los Angeles and made everyone around him that much better. Star teammate Blake Griffin was one of the beneficiaries of Paul’s excellent play, notching up 20 points and 10 rebounds, while centre DeAndre Jordan also had a good time with 9 points and 11 boards.
"CP's a great player all by himself," former Clipper Marcus Camby said, "and then when he got together with all those athletic guys like `Dre (DeAndre Jordan) and Blake, just throwing the ball up to the rim, it provides a lot of energy in the building, keeps those young guys pumped up, and they tend to feed off that."
Camby’s current team, the Portland Trail Blazers, got a significant boost from the bench on the night in the form of new recruit Jamal Crawford. The former Atlanta Hawks guard led all scorers with 23 points and was a key reason for his side’s competitiveness. LaMarcus Aldridge was also among the points with 19 while he also collected 9 boards. Wesley Matthews and Raymond Felton netted 12 points each.
The Clippers started on the front foot and led by as many as 9 points in the first quarter. In the second quarter Los Angeles continued to dominate and increased the gap to 10 just before the interval, going into the break up by 8 points at 44 – 36.
They didn’t look like slowing down in the second half either and started off with an 8-0 burst that put them ahead by 16 points. Portland trailed throughout the quarter, never really threatening the Clippers lead and ended the period behind by double digits at 69 – 52.
A 6-0 start by the Trail Blazers in the final period signalled their intention to make a fight of the game. Gradually they found their way back into it with some gritty play as the Clippers seemed to lose their grip on the game. A 7-0 burst that started with just over 3 minutes left on the clock took Portland to within 2 points of Los Angeles at 88 – 90 and sat up an exciting finish to the game.
Paul though just took responsibility with the game on the line and made the big play to give Clippers a 4 point cushion, which eventually proved decisive.
Clippers forward Griffin praised Paul for his heroics at the end and declared that he was pleased by energy shown by his team on the defensive end.
"We were all over the place, diving for loose balls, scrapping, getting steals and getting out on the break," Griffin said. "With two not-so-solid defensive games, it's good to come out and play like this."
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