Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, center, drives against Los Angeles Clippers' Eric Gordon, left, and Terance Mann, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Sunday, March 19, 2023. Portland was not able to pull in front and the Clippers led 59-55 at the break. The Clippers led by as many as 15 points in the first half but the Blazers closed the gap to 44-42 on Drew Eubanks' basket before Trendon Watford tied it with a layup.
Los Angeles was coming off a 113-108 loss at home to Orlando the night before, snapping a four-game winning streak. Leonard's jumper and George's 3-pointer pushed the Clippers' lead back to 108-97 and many Portland fans started heading for the exits.Īssistant coach Dan Craig was the acting head coach for the Clippers because Tyronn Lue had a non-COVID illness and did not travel with the team. Portland never led in the game but pulled within 103-97 on Nurkic's layup in the fourth quarter.