Second-half drought is becoming a habit for Trail Blazers against Clippers

The droughts just keep on coming, and the Portland Trail Blazers seem helpless to stop them in the Western Conference playoffs.

They were down by six points at the end of the third quarter, playing the Clippers tough, looking as if they had learned their lesson from Game 1.

But that was not the case.

The Trail Blazers were outscored 14-4 at the start of the fourth quarter, putting them in a 16-point hole they never climbed out of, pushing them toward a 102-81 loss to the Clippers on Wednesday night at Staples Center.

“We struggled to shoot the ball tonight,” Portland Coach Terry Stotts said. “We were under 40% most of the night. I thought we did a good job of changing things up as far as getting different looks.”

On Sunday, the Trail Blazers trailed the Clippers by eight points at the half, but went down by as much as 21 points in the third quarter.

Now the Trail Blazers find themselves down 0-2 in the best-of-seven first-round series that continues Saturday night in Portland.

Guard Damian Lillard was unable to do enough to help his team, scoring 17 points, but making just six of his 22 shots and missing all six of his three-pointers.

Mason Plumlee had a stronger showing after his poor outing in the first game.

Plumlee had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Clippers center Cole Aldrich shoots over Trail Blazers center Chris Kaman in the Clippers’ 102-81 Game 2 victory.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Kaman is ready

Chris Kaman knows how this goes.

If he’s asked by Stotts to play in this playoff series against the Clippers, Kaman will gladly lace up his sneakers and hit the court. If he’s not in the game, Kaman cheers on his Trail Blazers teammates and offers advice and encouragement.

Kaman played eight minutes in Game 1 on Sunday, providing a physical presence with his 7-foot, 265-pound frame and adding some offense with six points.

He got the call early Wednesday, taking the court with four minutes and 54 seconds left in the first quarter of Game 2.

“Last year in the playoffs, I played in Games 2 and 3, and then I didn’t play in Games 4 and 5 at all,” Kaman said.

“You just never know. Coach is doing everything he can do to help us win. Honestly, I’m ready to do whatever I need to do. I don’t know what it’s going to be. I’m sure I’ll play some.”

Kaman, who spent eight of his 13 years in the NBA with the Clippers, played 10 minutes and had four points and five rebounds.

The Trail Blazers needed an inside presence against the Clippers, and Kaman tried to provide that.

“You know, it’s like a chess game. You move a piece and someone else has to move a piece to make a counter,” he said. “They played a pretty physical matchup last game. We didn’t handle it very well, the second half particularly. So I think the big thing is going to be trying to match the physicality a little bit.”

broderick.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @BA_Turner