Clippers Fall Woefully Short Against Trail Blazers

Maybe on one of their best nights, the Clippers could beat the Portland Trail Blazers.

It would take a game in which the majority of their shots make it into the basket and every break imaginable falls their way.

Unfortunately for the Clippers, Saturday was not their night.

Portland played most of the game in cruise control and still had more than enough to embarrass the Clippers, 88-71, before 14,552 at Staples Center.

In their lowest scoring output of the season, the Clippers had only three players reach double figures: Tyrone Nesby with 16 points, Lamar Odom with 15 and Michael Olowokandi with 10.

“We just got outplayed,” shooting guard Eric Piatkowski said. “Everything they could do better than us, they did better than us.”

The Clippers, who made 52.9% of their shots from the field in the first quarter, finished shooting only 32.9%, easily a season low. They finished by missing 45 of their final 62 shots.

“Not competing is something that I cannot accept and I told [the players] that,” Clipper Coach Chris Ford said. “Our shooters have to start making their shots. That’s why they are there. They have to start doing their job, knocking down shots.”

The Trail Blazers are simply too talented, too big and too deep for the Clippers, who dropped to 4-9 in losing their second game in two nights.

“Looking at [Portland]’s roster, in my estimation, it’s one of the best assembled in a number of years,” Ford said. “You’re talking about quality players.”

Eleven Portland players scored and four finished with 10 or more points.

Damon Stoudamire led the Trail Blazers with 24 points, followed by Steve Smith with 13, Rasheed Wallace with 12.

Scottie Pippen did not have a big scoring night. He had only 10 points but came close to a triple double with 10 assists and nine rebounds.

“I’m having fun.” said Pippen, who also had three steals. “Any time you’re on top, you are going to enjoy it.”

The Trail Blazers not only have quality, they also have proven players, who are on a mission this season to win the NBA title. They know how to put overmatched teams like the Clippers away on the road and at home.

The Clippers, who lost by 23 points at Portland in the second game of the season, kept it close for nearly a 18 minutes.

After two free throws by Nesby six minutes into the second quarter, Portland led by only three points at 33-30. But then the Trail Blazers put it into overdrive and basically blew the Clippers off the court.

Portland finished the second quarter with a 21-6 run, which included a 13-0 stretch, to take a 54-36 lead at halftime. The Clippers, who have proved able to compete against quality teams like Minnesota and Seattle, did not have an answer for the Trail Blazers.

The Clippers, who entered with the fifth-worst scoring average in the league, hurt themselves again with their errant shooting. It’s been a problem all season.

In the first quarter, they knocked down shots when they were open but still trailed, 27-21.

In the second quarter, Portland’s defense shut down any momentum the Clippers had by limiting them to 21.7% shooting. The Clippers made only five of 23 shots and Portland outrebounded them, 16-9, in the quarter.

Ford juggled his lineup to start the second half by inserting Eric Piatkowski at shooting guard with Derek Anderson moving to the point in place of Troy Hudson, who had an off game with no points in 14 minutes.

Ford’s move worked early as the Clippers cut Portland’s lead to 59-45 with 6:40 remaining in the third quarter, but that only made the Trail Blazers mad. As they did to end the second period, Portland shifted gears and outscored the Clippers, 14-4, to take a commanding 24-point lead into the fourth.

In the final quarter, the Clippers made up some ground during garbage time to make the final score respectable. Guard Charles Jones, who had played in only six of the first 12 games, had five points.

“I thought, defensively, we did a good job,” Portland Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “We made them work and kept their field-goal percentage down.

“It’s good to get a game like this that ultimately you can rest your guys in the fourth quarter.”