Portland Checks Clippers

PORTLAND, Ore. â€”  There weren’t any “Beat L.A.â€� chants like there were in Sacramento two nights earlier, but the message delivered Thursday by the intensity of the Portland Trail Blazers and their Rose Garden fans was clear.

The Clippers aren’t pushovers anymore.

Even with the Clippers’ leading scorer, Lamar Odom, sitting out nearly the entire second half because of a bruised right hip, Portland needed a total team effort to win for the first time in three games between the teams this season.

Veteran center Arvydas Sabonis had a flashback to his younger days with 23 points and point guard Damon Stoudamire scored 11 of his 17 points in the third quarter to lead the Trail Blazers to a 94-81 victory before a capacity crowd of 20,352.

“The Clippers are really an improving team,� said Portland Coach Mike Dunleavy, whose team has the most victories in the Western Conference with a 41-18 record. “They are a young team, very athletic and their defense is better than previous years. They have a lot of talent there.�

In their two previous games against Portland at Staples Center, the Clippers won, 90-89, on Feb. 3 and 123-120 in double overtime last Saturday. And, for a while Thursday, they looked ready for another upset.

Thanks to some early sharpshooting from Eric Piatkowski and a few crafty plays from rookie Darius Miles, the Clippers held a 46-45 lead at halftime. They were doing a good job of keeping Portland from getting offensive rebounds and their 51.5% shooting over the first two quarters had the Trail Blazers shaking their heads at the break.

Portland didn’t waste any time looking to change things in the second half. The Trail Blazers made five of their first six shots in the third quarter and had a lot more spring in their step.

The Clippers, however, didn’t blink. With center Michael Olowokandi scoring five of his 13 points over the first half of the quarter, the Clippers stayed close until Odom realized he wasn’t helping the team and left the game for good with Portland ahead, 61-58.

Odom, who has played through numerous nagging injuries all season, suffered his hip injury with 4:14 to play in the first quarter, falling hard to the court after being fouled by Dale Davis on a drive.

“Obviously, losing Lamar hurt,� said Clipper Coach Alvin Gentry, whose team is 20-41 after its third consecutive loss. “Most of our offense goes through him. . . . We just didn’t have the firepower.�

The Clippers didn’t exactly roll over without Odom. They hung tough the rest of the third quarter, but the Trail Blazers got a huge lift at the end of the quarter when Stoudamire scored on a rebound basket at the buzzer to give Portland a 69-62 lead.

“Damon’s shot was big because it took [the Portland lead] from five to seven, and then we didn’t score and they came out and scored,� Gentry said.

In the fourth quarter, Sabonis took over. He knocked down perimeter shots, sweeping hooks and free throws to score 15 points in the quarter and the Trail Blazers used a 10-2 spurt to pull away.

“Despite [Odom being out] and our [43.1% shooting], we were right in striking distance in the fourth quarter,� point guard Jeff McInnis said. “But it seemed like we were playing just to be there. We weren’t playing with the fight or the same attitude we had last week. It was like, ‘Well, we beat them before.’ �

Added Miles: “We just played tonight. ‘We didn’t try and win like we did the last two times we played them.�

Without Odom, the Clippers are a slightly different team because they rely on him to do so much. He’s questionable for tonight’s game against the Sacramento Kings at Staples Center.

“I couldn’t help the team,� said Odom, who had only three points and three rebounds in 27 minutes.

“I couldn’t move at all. I was in extreme pain, especially when I tried to move laterally to play defense.�

Gentry said he knew Odom had to be badly hurt not to play: “If it’s possible for him to play he’ll play. That’s the way he is.

“The thing about Lamar is that he’s been hurt the whole year but he has kept playing. He’s been banged up. His [left] wrist hasn’t been right since the start of the season. And he’s had other injuries to his knees, his thigh. But he’s kept playing. He hasn’t taken any days off and you can’t appreciate that unless you’re a coach because you know there are some nights he should sit out but he keeps playing.�