Clippers lose to Blazers, face a potentially tougher Play-In path

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Clippers’ quest to get into a first-round playoff series might be getting trickier.

Deni Avdija scored 15 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter and helped fuel a crucial run, as the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Clippers, 116-97, on Friday night to gain the inside track for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.

If Portland (41-40) beats the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night, the Blazers will secure their spot in the 7-vs.-8 Play-In Tournament game on Tuesday in Phoenix against the Suns. The Clippers (41-40), who would have clinched eighth place with a win Friday, can still get the eighth spot but now need to win their finale against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night and hope Portland loses its game.

If the Clippers remain in ninth, they’ll need to win a pair of elimination games next week (the second one on the road) just to get into a best-of-seven first-round series against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.

Donovan Clingan had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Robert Williams III added 13 points and 10 rebounds as Portland outrebounded the Clippers 46-35 and won the turnover battle despite leading the league in turnovers.

Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 24 points and eight rebounds. Brook Lopez shot 5 for 11 from 3-point range on the way to 21 points, and Darius Garland finished with 16 points and seven assists. Jordan Miller scored 15 points, accounting for most of the Clippers’ 21 bench contributions. Bennedict Mathurin was limited to just five minutes and went scoreless.

After Portland took a 55-35 first-half lead, the Clippers stormed back. Miller’s 3-pointer gave the Clippers their first lead since the first quarter at 82-79 with 2:05 left in the third. But the lead was short-lived as Matisse Thybulle tied it at 82 on Portland’s next possession.

After the Clippers took an 88-86 lead with 11:06 left, the Blazers scored the next 11 points, holding the Clippers without a field goal for almost seven minutes. Jrue Holiday tied the score at 88 with free throws and Williams gave Portland a 90-88 lead with 10:31 left.

Williams scored on a dunk with 8:22 left to make it 92-88, forcing a timeout. Leonard missed a jumper out of the timeout and Avdija’s three-point play made it 95-88 with 7:41 left.

Avdija made two free throws for a 99-90 lead with 4:51 left. Lopez’s 3-pointer with 4:36 left finally ended the Clippers’ drought and cut the margin to 99-93, but the Blazers answered that with a 10-0 run. Portland’s Toumani Camara made it 101-93 on the next possession, then Lopez was called for a technical foul with 3:26 left and Avdija made the shot to make it 104-93.

Avdija hit a step-back 3-pointer with 2:41 left to make it 109-93 and Portland never looked back.

The Blazers struggled to connect from 3-point range for much of the night, going 12 for 39. But successfully getting to the foul line (30 for 35) and scoring 24 points off of 17 Clippers turnovers helped Portland make up the difference.

Portland’s Shaedon Sharpe returned after missing the last 28 games and finished with eight points in 15 minutes.

UP NEXT

The Clippers host the Warriors on Sunday at 5:30 p.m.

The Blazers host the Kings on Sunday at 5:30 p.m.