Oregon Trail Nails Clippers : 119-109 Setback Marks 18th Straight Defeat at Portland

There’s something about playing here that seems to bring out the worst in the Clippers.

The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Clippers for the 18th consecutive time at home, 119-109, Friday night before a sellout crowd of 12,666 at Memorial Coliseum.

The Clippers haven’t won here since Feb. 24, 1981.

“Don (Coach Don Chaney) mentioned before the game that we hadn’t won here in five years,” said Clipper guard Mike Woodson, who scored a season-high 28 points, 17 in the second half. We’ve got to stop that and get the monkey off our back,”

Portland forward Kiki Vandeweghe scored a game-high 30 points as the Trail Blazers (3-5) won their second straight game.

Vandeweghe, the third-leading scorer in the National Basketball Assn. with a 28.1-points-a-game average, hit 11 of 19 shots and all 8 free throws in 41 minutes. He also had 7 rebounds.

“It was one of those games where neither team was really into,” Vandeweghe said. “But we got a little more traction, and they didn’t get that much.”

Trail Blazer guard Clyde Drexler had a triple-double with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in 41 minutes. He also had 2 blocked shots and 3 steals. “My concentration was so intense,” Drexler said. “It’s hard for me to sleep at night when we lose, so I felt like I had to go out there and make something happen.

“My teammates were passing the ball to me in good spots all night. I think we were moving the ball very well.”

Jim Paxson came off the bench to score 19 points for Portland, and Jerome Kersey added 12. Starting center Steve Johnson had 10.

Portland dominated the Clippers on the boards, outrebounding them, 62-28. The Clippers had just 10 rebounds in the first half.

Trail Blazer forward Kenny Carr equaled his career high with 20 rebounds, getting 14 in the first half. He also finished the game with 13 points.

“I’ve gotten 20 rebounds a couple of times,” he said. “I just can’t seem to get over the hump. We were blocking out well tonight on the boards.”

While Carr was unstoppable on the boards, the Clipper front line of center Benoit Benjamin and forwards Cedric Maxwell and Michael Cage combined for just three offensive rebounds in the game.

The Clippers’ starting front line was also outscored, 53-27.

“We just weren’t strong enough to block them out on the boards,” Chaney said. “Kenny Carr got more rebounds in the first half than our whole team. Portland just did a great job of crashing the boards, and we were terrible in blocking them out. That was the story of this game.

“Portland shoots the ball too well to give them second and third shots at the basket. They’re going to knock one down sooner or later if you keep giving them shots.”

Benjamin, who had 8 points and 9 rebounds in 21 minutes before fouling out, got into early foul trouble. He played just four more minutes of the first half after getting his third foul with 7:35 left in the first quarter.

Benjamin was assessed a technical foul by referee Hue Hollins when he turned to Hollins and said, “That’s (bleep),” after picking up his third foul.

And Clipper backup center Kurt Nimphius wasn’t able to replace Benjamin with any effectiveness. Nimphius had just one rebound in 28 minutes.

The Clippers had an early 5-2 lead but were outscored, 13-2, in the span of 3 minutes 43 seconds as the Blazers took a 15-7 lead. Vandeweghe had five points and one assist during the spurt, and Drexler scored four points.

The Clippers, who hit just 3 of their first 9 shots, were cold in the first quarter. They made just 8 of 22 shots (36.4%) and trailed, 37-23.

Woodson scored the Clippers’ first 11 points in the second quarter as the team narrowed the deficit to 43-38, but Portland went ahead, 63-49, at halftime.

“Kenny Carr did a good job on the boards all night, but if you look at the first-half stats we should have had a 25-point lead,” said Mike Schuler, Portland’s first-year coach. “But L.A. did a great job of staying in there and scrapping back.”

Portland owned the boards in the first half with a 33-10 advantage. The Trail Blazers had 13 offensive rebounds in the half, to 3 for the Clippers.

But Woodson scored 15 points in the third quarter, hitting three three-point shots, as the Clippers rallied within three points at 79-76. But they couldn’t get any closer and lost their second straight game. Woodson had just two points in the fourth quarter.

Clipper Guard Marques Johnson scored 22 points, and Larry Drew added 20.

Clipper Notes Clipper forward Rory White took a plane back to Los Angeles just before the game when his wife, Ruth, was rushed to a hospital because of a complications in her pregnancy. They are expecting their first child in January. “Rather than have Rory here and worried about his wife, I thought it was best to send him home,” Clipper Coach Don Chaney said. “He came here (Memorial Coliseum), and I could tell he was worried. I can’t play him in a game when I can tell he’s worried about his wife and family. I don’t know how serious it is.” . . . Portland rookie forward Walter Berry missed his second straight game because of a strained abdominal muscle. . . . The Clippers will open a four-game home stand Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Sports Arena. . . . The Clippers still haven’t made a decision on whether to sign former UCLA forward Kenny Fields, who was waived last Monday by Milwaukee. Fields’ father, Don, has called Clipper General Manager Elgin Baylor several times.