INGLEWOOD — On the final night of NBA Cup group play, the Clippers needed a laundry list of things to happen if they were going to advance to the knockout round. Win by a certain number of points. Cover point differentials, and hope the Utah Jazz upset the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It was a lot to think about heading into Tuesday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, however, was focused on only one thing – winning. And he didn’t care if it was by 24 points or one point.
“For me, it’s just about getting a win. That’s the most important thing for me,” Lue said
Forget clinging to slim hopes for the in-season tournament, the Clippers got their ninth consecutive victory at the Intuit Dome, a 127-105 win against the Blazers. It also is their longest winning streak (10 games) since 2019.
The Clippers were officially eliminated from NBA Cup contention 30 minutes before tipoff, when the Thunder defeated the Jazz in an earlier game. For the Clippers to have had a chance, they needed the Thunder to lose and they still would have needed to beat the Blazers by at least 24 points.
Unlike so many of their games this season, the Clippers didn’t need a last-second shot or hero play down the stretch. They got all they needed to avenge an earlier one-point loss to Portland from their one-two scoring punch of James Harden and Norman Powell.
Harden, who had 23 points, surpassed Paul Pierce for sole possession of 17th place on the NBA’s career scoring list. The nine-time All-Star also had seven assists and one rebound.
“James Harden presents a lot of problems offensively,” Portland coach Chauncey Billups said before the game, adding that the point guard is playing “like he did five or six years ago.”
Powell, in his second game back from a hamstring injury, scored a game-high 30 points on 11-of-15 shooting (5 for 7 from 3-point range) to go with four rebounds and five assists. He scored 14 of the Clippers’ first 24 points to set the tone early and is averaging a career-best 23.9 points.
Amir Coffey went 5 for 7 from 3-point range and added 19 points, while Derrick Jones Jr. scored 15 and Jordan Miller had 14 as the Clippers shot 55.3% overall and 19 for 37 (51.4%) from 3-point range en route to a season-high point total.
Center Deandre Ayton led the Trail Blazers with 16 points and three rebounds and fellow big man Deni Avdija had 15 points.
After a tight third quarter, the Clippers took control of the game, stretching their lead to 22 as the reserves closed out the final minutes as both teams finished 2-2 in group play.
The Clippers ended the first half on a 14-8 run to take a 63-58 lead into intermission. The game, which started with the Clippers building an early 11-point advantage, became uncomfortable as the Blazers got warmed up and closed the gap to three by the end of the first quarter.
They took their first lead (40-38) on a layup by Jabari Walker at the 9:42 mark of the second quarter. Behind the strong play of their two big men – Ayton and Avdija – the Trail Blazers pushed the Clippers for the next several minutes until the Clippers regained control.
Terance Mann went to the Clippers’ locker room with trainer Jasen Powell in the third quarter with a left finger injury and didn’t return. It was revealed after the game that Mann fractured his middle finger when Jerami Grant stole the ball from him at midcourt and dunked it.
The Blazers were without Scoot Henderson, who was listed as questionable with a left quadriceps contusion.
More to come on this story.