Portland Trail Blazers spoil Blake Griffin’s NBA debut
Blake Griffin lived up to the expectations, but the Portland Trail Blazers spoiled his NBA debut with a convincing 98-88 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers for their second-straight win
on Wednesday night at the Staples Centre.
The first-overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft, whose rookie season started a year late after missing the entire 2009-10 season with a broken left kneecap, had 20 points and 14 rebounds, but
he’s not content with how he performed in his debut.
"In some areas I did well, but there's a lot of room for improvement," Griffin said. "It was a sigh of relief that I made it back, but I don't want to make this game bigger than it is. It
is a first game, not a live or die situation."
LaMarcus Aldridge spearheaded Portland’s attack in the second half with his 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Brandon Roy racked up 22 points and 10 boards, but was 0-for-8 from the field
in the second half after the Clippers’ defence clamped down on him.
"They were sending multiple guys at Brandon in the second half, and it's hard to play one-on-three," said Camby, who contributed 11 points and 14 rebounds for Portland. But we really didn't
need him that much in the second half. In the second half, Brandon didn't play well and LaMarcus did. So it's good to have that balance."
High-flying Frenchman Nicolas Batum picked off from where he left off during their season-opener, as he scored 15 points, while veteran point guard Andre Miller scored 14 points and dished
out seven assists for the Blazers, who defeated the Phoenix Suns, 106-92, on Tuesday.
The Clippers played well in the first half, and were still on the driver’s seat, 71-70, going into the fourth period, but they struggled in the final quarter after the Blazers shifted to
a zone defence, which derailed the offensive sets of Los Angeles.
"Their zone bothered us," Clippers’ new head coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We got very stagnant. I thought we settled for too much. It's a good learning experience. We just got to learn how
to win the fourth quarter."
The Blazers took advantage of the Clippers’ offensive struggles, and Aldridge and Miller combined for 11 points, sparking a decisive run down the stretch, which gave Portland a comfortable
91-80 lead with 3:23 left in the game.
"It was our defence," Camby said. "We changed it up a little bit and switched from man to a zone, and I think that kind of slowed them down a little and made them a little hesitant. Then
we were able to get some stops."
Team USA member Eric Gordon led the Clippers in scoring with his 22 markers, while Rasual Butler added 16 points, highlighted by his 4-for-6 clip from beyond-the-arc.
Before the game started, Griffin thanked their fans who all came to witness his debut, and he immediately electrified the Clippers’ fans with an alley-oop rim-rattling dunk in the first period,
which also earned praises from their opponents.
"He's a guy that jumps all over the place and he's quick, so he's definitely going to be a big body there to mess around with for some years to come," Andre Miller said.
Camby, who played with Griffin in last year’s pre-season when he was still with Clippers, also said that Griffin will definitely improve and be the face of the Clippers’ franchise for years
to come.
Portland will shoot for their third-straight win when they face the New York Knicks on Saturday, while Griffin and the Clippers will try to bounce back on Friday against the Golden State
Warriors.
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