Trail Blazers’ 3-Pointers Take Edge off Clippers

It has been 15 days since the Clippers hired Larry Brown, and already Clippermania has gripped the Sports Arena, which so often has been silent since the team moved here in 1984.

Friday night’s sellout crowd of 15,800 came to see if Brown’s Clippers could extend their unbeaten streak to six, playing against the Portland Trail Blazers. One fan had a sign that read: “Larry Brown & Clippers, Playoff Bound,” and the decibel level at the Sports Arena was almost as loud as a Guns ‘N Roses concert.

The Clippers, who recovered from a 14-point deficit to defeat Portland by one point last Sunday, came back from a 13-point first-half deficit Friday by shooting 70.3% in the second half, but the Trail Blazers outscored the Clippers, 9-2, in the final 45 seconds to hand the Clippers a 123-116 loss.

The Trail Blazers finished with an NBA season-high 12 three-point shots, making six three-pointers in the fourth quarter, when they outscored the Clippers, 37-31.

The Trail Blazers’ Clyde Drexler, who had 11 of his game-high 31 points in the final quarter, was impressed by Brown’s Clippers.

“They really look good right now,” Drexler said. “They’re better organized on the offensive end, and they seem to be responding really well to whatever Coach Brown is telling them.

“They’re playing much better as a team. The chemistry is there. They’re really hustling and playing both ends of the court.”

Portland took a 114-110 lead when guard Terry Porter, who had 16 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, sank a three-point shot with 1:36 left.

But the Clippers responded with four straight points. Center James Edwards, who made the game-winner in last Sunday’s game at Portland, sank an 18-foot fadeaway jumper from the right corner to cut it to 114-112. Doc Rivers controlled the rebound after Drexler missed a three-point shot and set up Danny Manning, who had 30 points, for a 16-foot jumper with 1:02 left.

However, Drexler made a layup and added a free throw after he was fouled by Edwards to give Portland a 117-114 lead with 45.8 seconds remaining.

The Clippers called a timeout to set up a play, but Ron Harper turned it over, dribbling the ball off his foot with 42.8 seconds left.

Center Alaa Abdelnaby, inserted after Kevin Duckworth fouled out, sank a 12-foot baseline jumper with 20 seconds remaining to give Portland a five-point lead. Harper sank a 20-foot jumper to cut it to three with 17 seconds left, but Porter made four straight free throws.

Porter had kept Portland in the game in the fourth quarter, sinking four of five three-point shots. He made six three-point shots overall to tie Michael Adams and Tim Hardaway for most in a game this season.

“Terry Porter was on fire tonight,” Trail Blazer Coach Rick Adelman said. “He was just incredible tonight.”

After seeing the Clippers twice since Brown took over, Adelman is impressed.

“I really like the way they’re playing now,” Adelman said. “They’re playing hard and with a lot of confidence. They’re playing a lot more unselfishly and getting the ball to the right guy in the right spots.”

The Clippers, who sank their first nine shots in the second half, made 16 of 22 shots in the third quarter to cut their deficit to 86-85 going into the final period. The last three Clipper points in the third quarter came on Rivers’ 26-footer.

The crowd roared as the Clippers, who shot 72.2% in the fourth quarter, ran Brown’s motion offense to perfection and outscored Portland, 7-2, in the first 2 minutes 18 seconds of the fourth quarter to take a 92-88 lead.

“It’s a good offense,” Edwards said. “Everybody’s touching the ball, (which is) much different than the beginning of the season. We’re getting better shot selections and really pushing the ball up the court. We’re playing with much more confidence and intensity, and more importantly, we’re playing much tougher on defense.”

Clipper Notes

Portland outrebounded the Clippers, 49-27, with Buck Williams grabbing 11 rebounds and Kevin Duckworth 10. Cliff Robinson had nine rebounds off the bench. . . . It was the Clippers’ sixth sellout of the season. This is the most games that the team has sold out since moving to Los Angeles from San Diego in 1984. They had four sellouts last season.

There has been so much media interest in Clipper Coach Larry Brown that the club has been forced to move his postgame interview sessions to an adjoining locker room. Clipper coaches used to be able to hold their news conferences in a closet.