Trail Blazers at Clippers
A pair of Western Conference contenders wrap up their first-half schedules as the Portland Trail Blazers head to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers with All-Star Weekend looming. Portland and Los Angeles will each send a pair of representatives to New Orleans to play in the midseason exhibition, but first thing's first — and that's ending the first half on a high note against a formidable foe. "They're good; we're good," Clippers coach Doc Rivers told the Los Angeles Times. "It's that simple."
Los Angeles got a lift from the return of point guard Chris Paul in a 123-78 rout of Philadelphia on Sunday and the All-Star was all smiles after seven points and eight assists in 23 minutes. "It felt great to play," he told reporters. "You never know what it's going to be like until you actually get out there and compete (and) it just felt good," Paul added. The Blazers fell at home in a tight one Tuesday night, losing to West-leading Oklahoma City 98-95.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, CSN Northwest (Portland), Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (36-16): Forward LaMarcus Aldridge and guard Damian Lillard will represent Portland in the All-Star Game, and Lillard will be a busy man all weekend, taking part in not just the game itself but in all five of the weekend's marquee events. The second-year pro will compete as part of Team Hill in the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night before attempting to defend his Skills Challenge crown from a year ago on Saturday, along with participating in the slam dunk and 3-point contests and finally, Sunday's interconference showdown. Of his busy weekend schedule, Lillard told The Oregonian, "It's a good thing for my game and the competition."
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (36-18): Joining Paul in New Orleans for this weekend's festivities will be forward Blake Griffin, and NBA Hall-of-Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley told The Times that Paul's absence was a blessing in disguise for the emerging Griffin. "One of the best things that has happened to (Griffin) is (Paul) being out because he has been more aggressive," Barkley said. "To me, he's got to start to impose his will more. With (Paul out), he's (done) that more." Griffin, whose 23.9 points per game leads the team and is among the league's top 10, averaged 27.5 points on 55.4 percent shooting and 4.4 assists in the 18 games that Paul missed.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Los Angeles has defeated Portland at home four straight times in the head-to-head series and is 6-4 in the last 10 meetings overall.
2. Blazers C Joel Freeland (knee) left Tuesday night's game, did not return and is out indefinitely.
3. Clippers SG J.J. Redick (hip) will miss his fourth consecutive game but plans to play in Los Angeles' first game after the break, Tuesday against San Antonio.