Here were the top three Portland Trail Blazers players in their loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Portland Trail Blazers were defeated in heartbreaking fashion Thursday night at the Moda Center, losing 103-104 to the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.
To recap exactly what happened: the Blazers were leading the Clippers 102-101 with just about 15 seconds left in the contest. Clippers forward Blake Griffin attempted to take it in on Blazer big man Jusuf Nurkic, opting to kick it out to DeAndre Jordan. Jordan took a dribble in to force the defense to collapse further, dishing the ball to a wide open Danilo Gallinari at the top of the arc.
C.J. McCollum rushed to close out on Gallo, who passed the ball to a wide open Austin Rivers. Unfortunately for the Clips, Rivers’ drive resulted in an offensive foul, rewarding the Blazers with possession. The Blazers inbounded the ball to McCollum, who was subsequently fouled to stop the clock.
It looked as if the Blazers were going to hold on for the win as McCollum went to the line, dropping in the second free throw after missing the first. Alas, it just wasn’t meant to be, as Griffin was able to get off a relatively good look for from behind the arc to steal the game from Rip City.
Despite the loss, there was a great deal to like about Portland in their performance against Los Angeles. Here were the top three Blazers players from the game.