Clippers at Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Clippers are battling each other for homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs and both are looking strong of late. The Trail Blazers will try to make up some space in the race when they host the Clippers on Wednesday. Portland is in the No. 4 spot thanks to its superiority in the Northwest Division but is only percentage points ahead of No. 5 Los Angeles when it comes to the battle for homecourt in a potential first-round meeting.
The Trail Blazers, who clinched their spot in the postseason by crushing the Phoenix Suns 109-86 on Monday, can wrap up the Northwest Division with a win and a loss by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday. “We came into this season not just looking to make the playoffs,” Portland forward LaMarcus Aldridge told reporters. “It was looking forward to making it but also trying to make a step forward. We’re honored and happy to be in this position, but we’re not satisfied.” The Clippers squandered a 17-point lead in a 110-106 loss to the Warriors on Tuesday.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBATV, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), KGW (Portland)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (49-26): Los Angeles entered Tuesday with a seven-game winning streak and looking like a championship contender but was outscored 28-18 in the fourth quarter at home by the Warriors. Blake Griffin continues to provide the highlights and had his best game since returning from elbow surgery with 40 points and 12 rebounds in the loss. The All-Star forward has gone over 20 points in four of his last six games but is shooting 34.1 percent from the field in two games against the Trail Blazers this season.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (48-25): Monday marked the third time in the last four games Portland held an opponent under 90 points, and the Trail Blazers locked down the Clippers to earn a 98-93 overtime win in the last meeting March 4. That win brought it within 1-2 in the season series, and Portland would like to keep the head-to-head tiebreaker away from Los Angeles. “It’s one of the teams we could see in the first round,” point guard Damian Lillard told reporters. “With us being fourth and them having a better record than us, it could be one of those games where homecourt advantage could be up for grabs. We want that; I’m sure they want it, too.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Trail Blazers have not won an outright division title since the 1991-92 season.
2. Los Angeles PG Chris Paul is 24-of-24 from the free-throw line in the last three games.
3. Portland G Arron Afflalo is averaging 18.5 points on 14-of-22 shooting in the last two games.