The Portland Trail Blazers might still appear rough at times on offense to start the season, but the new defense under coach Chauncey Billups has appeared to take hold.
The Blazers put the clamps down on the Los Angeles Clippers, winning 111-92 Friday night at the Moda Center. Portland held Los Angeles to 40 points in the first half to help build a big lead in the third quarter, then withstood a Clippers comeback before closing the door for good in the fourth quarter.
“I was very pleased with our defense,” Billups said. “I was pleased with our approach. I thought we came to compete tonight.”
This came two nights after the Blazers (3-2) limited Memphis to 39 points in the second half after trailing 57-51 at halftime and went on to win 116-96.
That’s 131 points allowed over the past six quarters, helping to produce two impressive wins since losing 116-86 on Monday at Los Angeles against these very same Clippers (1-4).
Helping the cause on offense was Damian Lillard, who packed his shooting touch for this one. Lillard, who entered the game shooting 33.3% from the field on the season and 17.1% on threes, made 9 of 17 shots and 5 of 7 threes for 25 points.
“It was good to see some shots go down for him,” Billups said.
Paul George led the Clippers with 42 points on 15 of 24 shooting.
The Blazers committed just 14 turnovers after giving away 30 at the Clippers on Monday.
WHAT IT MEANS
The Blazers have won two consecutive games for the first time this season and went to one game over .500 before heading out on the road for three games.
It also showed that the Blazers can make a quick turnaround on answering against a team after a major defeat. Billups said the big difference between Monday and Friday was simply turnovers and intensity.
“Monday offered us an opportunity to see how bad we can be when we turn the basketball over,” Billups said. “How bad we can be when we don’t start off the game focused on competing on every play.”
GAME RECAP
The Clippers made their first six three-pointers to build an 18-9 lead in the first quarter. But the Blazers closed strong and led 25-24 heading to the second quarter.
Trail Blazers forward Robert Covington shoots a three-pointer as the Portland Trail Blazers face the Los Angeles Clippers at Moda Center on Friday, Oct. 29, 2021.Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
There, the Blazers’ defense became incredibly stingy, allowing just 16 points as they went up 48-40 at halftime. The Clippers shot 31.8% from the field but George was pretty much unstoppable with 22 points in the first half.
The Blazers began the third quarter with a 7-1 run and then Lillard hit a three. Following a Blazers stop, Lillard found himself double-teamed on the left side, got between the two defenders and threw a two-handed pass to CJ McCollum in the opposite corner. McCollum made the three to give the Blazers a 61-41 lead with 6:50 on the clock.
The Clippers did make a comeback and trailed just 82-78 after George scored with 7:26 remaining in the game. But over the next 4:07, the Blazers held the Clippers to one point while Portland’s offense picked back up.
Especially Lillard.
He hit a three at 4:22 and another at 3:57, and the Blazers took a 99-83 lead with 3:19 remaining.
“I shot the ball well tonight but there were still some shots that I missed that I felt that I should have made,” Lillard said.
NORMAN POWELL RETURNS
The Blazers’ starting small forward returned after missing two games with a knee injury to score 12 points in 24 minutes. His big quarter came in the second when he scored nine points while making all three of his three-pointers.
SHOWED UP AND SHOWED OUT
Jusuf Nurkic, who had just four points with six turnovers in Monday’s loss at the Clippers, put up 14 points Friday night with 17 rebounds.
Luke Kennard came off the bench to score 16 points for the Clippers.
SHOWED UP AND FIZZLED
Anfernee Simons, who entered the game shooting 53.5% from the field and 47.8% on threes, went 2 of 11 from the field and 1 of 7 on threes to finish with five points in 24 minutes.
Despite the shooting struggles, Billups said Simons otherwise played a solid game.
“He got the looks that we wanted him to have,” Billups said. “I thought defensively he was locked in and he was in tune, talking and being vocal out there. I thought Ant played well.”
Reggie Jackson went 3 of 12 for the Clippers, finishing with eight points and four assists. Nic Batum went 1 of 6 for two points.
NEXT UP
The Blazers head out on their first multigame road trip starting Sunday at Charlotte (4-2) and continuing Monday at Philadelphia (3-2) before concluding Wednesday at Cleveland (3-2 entering Friday). All three games start at 4 p.m.
— Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).
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