The Los Angeles Clippers rode Chris Paul and strong defense to a 102-81 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 2 on Thursday night. LA's win gives them a 2-0 lead in the first-round series between the two teams as things head to Portland for Game 3 on Saturday night.
Blazers vs. Clippers, 2016 NBA playoff results: Los Angeles pulls away for 102-81 win in Game 2
The series heads to Portland with the Clippers leading 2-0.
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Paul was exceptional for the Clippers all game, not only leading the offense but once again limiting the damage from All-Star guard Damian Lillard. Paul finished the game with 25 points, six rebounds and five assists in 30 minutes. He shot 10-of-22 from the field. Lillard, meanwhile, was held to just 17 points on 6-of-22 shooting.
Winning the matchup at point guard is one key to success for the Clippers, and strong defense stemming from the interior is another. With DeAndre Jordan giving LA a strong anchor in the post to limit options for attacking the rim, the Clippers have pressured the Blazers’ role players to hit shots from the outside. After shooting 40 percent overall and 33 percent from three in Game 1, Portland’s shooting numbers dipped to 34 percent overall and 19 percent from three on Wednesday night.
That simply won’t cut it against a team as good as the Clippers, who consistently led throughout the game before blowing things open in the fourth quarter. With 10 minutes left in the game, Portland was down by just six. LA responded with a 12-2 run that pushed the lead back out of reach.
Los Angeles seems to have the clear advantage in the series, and now the question seems to be how far Portland might be able to push this thing. Returning home to the Moda Center should help, but it seems like the Blazers have far bigger issues.
Three more things we learned:
Blake Griffin is still finding his form, and that's okay
It’s a good thing that the Clippers seem to have a sizable edge on their first-round opponent because Griffin is still working the rust off after his extended absence due to injury and suspension. The forward appeared in five regular season games before the start of the playoffs, but averaged just 24.6 minutes per game and didn’t produce his usual numbers while on the court.
The Blazers are a favorable matchup for Griffin, and he played well in Game 1 with 19 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in 32 minutes. He wasn’t quite as productive Wednesday, however, with just 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists. The Clippers will need more from Griffin by the end of the postseason if they’re going to make a big run, but it seems like he’s content to build toward that over this series against a relatively inferior opponent.
As long as he’s dunking like this, the next level should be right around the corner.
Portland’s wings aren’t taking advantage
The Clippers have one of the game's premier point guards, an All-Star forward and a legit rim protector. The one area where LA isn't clearly stacked is on the wings, where Doc Rivers has struggled to put together the pieces to complete a championship team. J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford are very solid shooting guards, but the Clippers' weakness at the three was never quite addressed. Luc Mbah a Moute started there in Game 2, backed up primarily by Jeff Green and Wesley Johnson. Paul Pierce, once considered a possible solution at the position, didn't even play.
Despite this lacking group, the Blazers' forwards have struggled throughout this series. Instead of taking advantage of those matchups, Al-Farouq Aminu and Moe Harkless have both struggled on the offensive end. In Game 2, Aminu and Harkless shot a combined 9-of-26 from the floor, which comes after the duo shot 6-of-19 in the series opener. Keeping up at the other positions was always going to be tough, as brilliant as Lillard and C.J. McCollum are. The three spot seemed like an advantage for Portland, but so far in this series, the team hasn't quite capitalized.
The best of Damian Lillard needs to show up
All of Portland’s other issues mean that their star player, Lillard, needs to play out of his mind to carry his team to a first-round upset. However, CP3 has largely gotten the best of Lillard so far in this series, which has only made things easier for the Clippers. While we could giggle at the fact that the Blazers’ star was shooting 4-of-20 at one point on 4/20, the fact that he finished his night just 6-of-22 from the field goes pretty far toward explaining why Portland is in trouble.
The Blazers were always going to go as far as Lillard could carry them. Unless he can turn around his matchup against Paul, just making the playoffs may be the crowning achievement for Portland this season.
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