Clippers’ second unit was first-rate in season-opening win

During the latter stages of the preseason, it was mandatory for the Clippers’ second unit to arrive early for practice sessions.

Day after day over a six-day period, the reserves worked with a purpose to become a reliable group.

So when it was time for those substitutes to lift up the floundering Clippers starters in the first regular-season game Thursday night at Portland, the bench delivered in a resounding way.

The Clippers probably would have been hard-pressed to defeat the Trail Blazers if it wasn’t for the work put in by Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford, Raymond Felton, Marreese Speights and Wesley Johnson.

“The last few days we had off has been really like another training camp,” Speights said after the win Thursday. “Coach [Doc Rivers] really pushed us. The second group came in early, 30 minutes before practice, running through plays. We got the bond going. That kind of stuff helps.”

Speights came in and produced right away Thursday, making his first shot, a three-pointer off an assist from Felton. Speights finished with 15 points on four-for-eight shooting, two for three from three-point range.

Crawford had 15 points and four steals. Austin Rivers had eight points and played stellar defense, Felton had four points and two assists and Johnson had three points and two rebounds.

It was a seamless night because of the extra practices.

“We’ve got a deep team,” Speights said. “We’re going to be dangerous this year because of the vets we’ve got on the team. The starters start off slow, it’s our job to come in and pick them up and push the lead to another level.”

The reserves were the primary reason why the Clippers turned a six-point first-quarter deficit into a 12-point lead in the second quarter.

And when the starters let a nine-point halftime lead dissolve in the third, the reserves came to the rescue again. They dug in on defense in the third and in the early part of the fourth quarter, helping the Clippers open a lead they never lost again.

“We said, ‘This is going to be one of our nights. We’ve got to leave our imprints.’” Crawford said of the reserves. “I thought we did a great job of that in the first stint we were in. In the second stint, it wasn’t quite as spectacular, but we still increased the lead and the starters got rolling again. That’s our job every single night.”

For the game the Clippers’ reserves were a combined plus-77 in the plus-minus category, while the starters were a minus-37.

“I think they’ve done a great job in practice of really running our stuff in the last week or so,” starting forward Blake Griffin said about the reserves. “I think after we played [an exhibition game] at Utah, Doc kind of laid into them a little bit — into all of us really — about ball movement, trusting our system. They came in early a couple of days this week of practice and did offense.

“They looked great tonight. That’s what we need from them. I think our bench is more talented than a lot of teams in this league, definitely a little bit deeper than a lot of teams. So we need to use that to our advantage.”

broderick.turner@latimes.com

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