Five takeaways from the Clippers’ exhibition loss to Trail Blazers

Five takeaways from the Clippers’ 119-114 exhibition loss to Portland on Sunday night.

1. The Clippers need to work on their defense. They have given up 119 points to Portland and 112 points to Golden State.

The Clippers allowed the Trail Blazers to shoot 53.9% from the field, the Warriors 48.6%.

The Clippers allowed the Trail Blazers to make 68% (17-for-25) of their three-pointers.

Last season, the Clippers led the NBA in three-point field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 33.2%.

2. Clippers Coach Doc Rivers had talked about his team needing to improve its conditioning.

Rivers had them come in last Thursday, an off-day, to run sprints. The Clippers looked to be in better shape against Portland.

3. Jamal Crawford still can score with the best of them in the NBA.

He went on a barrage in the fourth quarter against the Trail Blazers, scoring 12 consecutive points.

Crawford finished with 23 points on eight-for-13 shooting, six-for-eight on three-pointers.

4. Will free-throw shooting be DeAndre Jordan’s big issue again this season?

After two exhibition games, it looks that way.

Jordan is three-for-11 from the free-throw line in the first two games. He made 43% of his free throws last season.

5. Spencer Hawes is going to help the Clippers as the third big man.

Hawes had 15 points and six rebounds off the bench.

He was three-for-six from three-point range. But Hawes also scored down low, showing diversity in his game.