A source said Chris Paul is “most likely” out for the rest of the playoffs because of the broken bone in his right hand.
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“It doesn’t look good for him”, Clippers coach Doc Rivers told reporters, per ESPN.com. “I think everybody felt disrespected, like that’s not what our season is gonna be”, guard Allen Crabbe said. “That’s kind of how I was looking at it, but now I understand it comes from hard work, it’s based on perception and not having played, not having the body of work to show for it”, McCollum said.In the regular season, Boston’s offensive rating (points scored per 100 possessions) in the first quarter was 103.8.
An angered Paul walked off the floor to the locker room after being briefly checked by a trainer, shaking his head and kicking a seat cushion while making his way off the court.
Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin, left, shoots over Portland Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless, right, during the first half of Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Monday, April 25, 2016, in Portland, Ore.
The Clippers have struggled with odd injury issues all season, most notably to Blake Griffin, who first tore his quadricep and then broke his hand punching an equipment manager.
Paul was producing at an MVP level, averaging 19.5 points, 10 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game while hitting 37.1 percent of his shots from long range. Aminu had a special night and finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks. “We’re going home. All they’ve done is win two games at home just like we won two games at home”, the coach said. Portland pulled even with the Clippers Monday thanks to a 98-84 victory, a monster performance from Al-Farouq Aminu, and a pair of untimely injuries to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. The Blazers are a proud team that now has a good shot to advance over the reeling Clippers, but our money wouldn’t be on them advancing past the Warriors even without Curry: They simply don’t have enough scoring options to beat what will be a swarming defense.
Jeff Green added 17 points off the bench for Los Angeles.
Trail Blazers: Aminu also had 10 rebounds.
Griffin looked dejected when he went to the bench with a little more than five minutes left in the game.
The matchup will mark the second and final game of Los Angeles’s road trip and end a two game homestand for Portland. The Warriors, who only shortly before Paul’s injury learned Stephen Curry will miss at least the next two weeks with a sprained right medial collateral ligament.
Heading into Monday night’s game with a 2-1 series lead, the Los Angeles Clippers had a lot on their minds already. Portland C Mason Plumlee is averaging 15 rebounds and 8.8 assists in the past three games.
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“It’s 2-2. I love the energy we’ve had defensively over the last three games, and we have to take that to L.A. But this is the playoffs”.
