Posters don’t matter. It matters if you’re moving on to the next round, which is what it looks like for the Blazers, winning three games in a row after losing the first two by a combined 41 points. The two-time All-Star had struggled mightily to that point, making just 1 of 10 shots and scoring six points.
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The impact both players have on the team is just impossible to offset.
Los Angeles hopes that a return to the Staples Center tonight will help stabilize an absurdly unwieldy situation. After J.J. Redick’s opening 3-pointer, they did not score again until the 7:15 mark of the first quarter on a dunk by DeAndre Jordan. McCollum scored 27 points and has averaged 24.3 in the Blazers’ comeback from a 2-0 deficit. They kept fighting, but with no Paul or Griffin to anchor the offense and create better possessions than Jamal Crawford isolations (who played 44 minutes and shot a mere 6-of-23) or the occasional Cole Aldrich pick-and-roll, they simply didn’t have enough. He finished with 17 points, just like Jeff Green off the bench.
As the story goes however, Jordan returned to the Clippers, signing a max-deal with the team for five years. “We played pretty good defense overall, I just think we need to be better offensively”.
A stunned crowd in Staples Center, including Chris Paul dressed in civilian clothes, know for a fact that the season is likely going to be over for them in Game 6, where they play against the Blazers and their hostile Portland crowd.
All the focus in the world can’t necessarily come over the loss of two superstars, though. He won’t be back in the postseason. They wanted to win. They won’t have the chance to go out on their own terms, but at least we know they’ll be able to leave with their heads held high, knowing that despite all adversity, they still competed. Hours before the tip, Portland sits as a 3-point favorite. The Blazers ran off seven straight points, capped by Allen Crabbe’s 3-pointer, to go up 90-77 for their first double-digit lead of the game.
The Clippers lost to the Trail Blazers 108-98 and trail in the series 3-2. The Clippers actually managed to keep the game close, entering the fourth quarter tied with Portland 71-all.
The Clippers forward felt his quad injury flare up during the team’s loss to the Trail Blazers in Game 4 on Monday.
Clippers: Paul winced when he bumped his right hand while sitting on the bench.
In one locker room there was praise for Damian Lillard. Davis’ procedure was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the Clippers’ team physician.
Paul had surgery to fix a hand fracture sustained in the third quarter of Monday night’s 98-84 loss in Game 4.
“She was his rock”, said Austin Rivers, a Clippers guard and Doc Rivers’ son. “They’ve been really involved with their teammates as much as they can be”. For those that want to watch the Trail Blazers try to eliminate the Clippers on Friday night, the game can be seen on TV on ESPN at 10:30 p.m. ET. Playing Prigioni more frequently may not lead the Clippers to a victory in Game 6, his performance in Game 5 warrants a bump in playing time.
Clippers: The Clippers fell to 2-5 when neither Paul nor Griffin play since Paul joined the team before the 2011-12 season.
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Rivers had not yet decided who will start in place of Griffin and Paul.
