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Five takeaways from the Clippers’ 114-106 season-opening win over the Trail Blazers

Clippers guard Chris Paul works against Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless during a game at Staples Center on Oct. 27.
(Steve Dykes / Associated Press)
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The Clippers on Thursday won their season opener with a 114-106 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center.

Here are five things we learned:

1. The Clippers didn’t win the rebound battle against a Trail Blazers team known for pounding the backboards. But they didn’t lose the rebounding battle either, ending the game tied at 48-48.

That in itself is a win for the Clippers.

Blake Griffin had 13 rebounds, five offensive. DeAndre Jordan had 12 rebounds, seven offensive. Chris Paul, the point guard, had five rebounds.

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As a group, the Clippers had 15 offensive rebounds, which gave them more scoring opportunities.

“The thing that we did that was good was kind of stay on the glass, offensive rebounds,” Griffin said. “I think DJ got one and a couple of guys got some other ones, getting themselves. I think that’s important when you’re missing easy shots.”

2. Marreese Speights showed why he has the nickname of Mo Buckets.

Dude can score the basketball — and from all over the court.

Speights had 15 points off the bench for the Clippers. He was four-for-eight from the field, two-for-three from three-point range.

3. The Clippers have been one of the most efficient teams in the NBA for the last three years. They are known for sharing the basketball, but in the season opener they had just 12 assists as a team on 37 made field goals.

Of course, they also shot just 40.7% from the field, missing open shots when one of their teammates made the extra pass.

“It [the ball] did stick sometimes, and a lot of that is my fault,” Paul said. “But I think we’ll get better. I think a lot of it has to do was the fact that they were switching so many screens. That’s something that we’ve got to get better at. But we’ll take the win.”

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4. There were two flagrant fouls in the game — one on Portland’s Mason Plumlee against Griffin and one on C.J. McCollum on Jordan.

There was a shoving match between Jordan and Plumlee in the third quarter.

There were stare-downs, shoves and pushes.

It was a physical game, but nothing that the Clippers took seriously.

“That’s just how they are,” Griffin said about Portland. “That’s how we want to be. I don’t think it was anything extra, anything crazy. It was good basketball.”

5. The Clippers decided to start Luc Mbah a Moute at small forward, but he had just one point. He missed his only two shots.

There were times when Clippers Coach Doc Rivers went to a three-guard lineup, playing small basketball rather than the traditional small forward.

Mbah a Moute played just 17 minutes. Wesley Johnson, the backup small forward, played 11:31.

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broderick.turner@latimes.com

Follow Broderick Turner on Twitter @BA_Turner

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