Clippers Show Some Spark, but Still Lose

Though the Clippers didn’t make it easy, the Portland Trail Blazers beat them for the eighth consecutive time, 99-90.

The Clippers lost their 10th in a row and for the 15th time in 16 games as Rasheed Wallace scored 21 points for Portland, which finished 4-0 this season against them.

Still, few of the victories have been easy as the Trail Blazers usually have been forced to make second-half rallies to win.

This one was no different as Portland used Wallace’s 11-point third quarter to outscore the Clippers, 27-16, in the period and take a 77-68 lead into the fourth. The Clippers got no closer than seven points in the fourth, when Isaiah Rider scored 13 of his 17 points for the Trail Blazers.

“We had an opportunity to win,” said Ike Austin, who led the Clippers with 23 points and 11 rebounds. “We had the game in control [leading, 52-50, at halftime], but we let it get away. Rider got free for some open jumpers and really hurt us. He put the force on us.”

Rider jammed a finger on his right hand when he got tangled up with Austin early in the third quarter, but he returned a few minutes later and had scoring runs of eight and five points in the fourth quarter that doomed the Clippers.

“Ike hit me pretty good [on a pick],” Rider said. “I got the worst of it, but I’m OK. When I came back I got into a good rhythm and the shots fell.”

Arvydas Sabonis and Damon Stoudamire also took turns carrying the Trail Blazers. Both scored 11 points in the first quarter as the Trail Blazers outscored the Clippers, 35-25, for their highest-scoring opening period of the season.

Sabonis had 20 points and 12 rebounds for his 36th double-double of the season. Stoudamire scored 17 points, while Lamond Murray added 22 for the Clippers.

The Clippers led, 56-55, after Rodney Rogers’ basket with 6:30 left in the third, but the Trail Blazers, who blew a 13-point lead in the second quarter, went on an 8-0 run behind Wallace’s five points.

Wallace, averaging 20.2 points over the last nine games, made four of five field goal attempts and all three of his free throws in the quarter. The Trail Blazers went on a 9-2 run to open the fourth quarter as Rider scored eight of the nine.

The Clippers were outrebounded, 44-38, by the Trail Blazers and were dominated inside except for Austin, who played Sabonis to a standstill. The Clippers were forced to shoot 20 three-point attempts and made only four.

The Trail Blazers let down midway through the second quarter and the Clippers, led by Austin’s five points, went on a 13-0 run to tie the score at 42-42.