NBA: George leads Clippers past Blazers 117-109.

NBA: Los Angeles Clippers from Paul George and Nicolas Batum’s aid cruises past Damian Lillard’s Portland Trailblazers 117-109.

Paul George scored 24 points against Damian Lillard’s 27 points. It was the support that Portland lacked as Batum gave to Clippers. Batum finishes with 22 points.

Jumping out for an early lead of 13-3, Clippers started the game with red hot shooting. However, efforts from Damian Lillard and Norman Powell got the game close and when the Clippers started missing shots Trailblazers benefitted hugely.

Portland had a slight edge throughout the first quarter however, their second unit sent them in decline again. Clippers finished the opening quarter 7-11 shooting behind the arc taking a 33-26 lead.

Thanks to early effort from CJ McCollum Portland stayed in the hunt throughout the second half. Their tactical plans were working putting Norman Powell against Paul George which kept the boxes checked for Trailblazers.

The defense too worked its magic for POR, when the second unit decided to defend the Clippers. Portland’s strategy was working when George was heated up by a four-point play from Powell. Geroge had three fouls. Clippers with all these dramas still led by a single point at halftime.

When Portland’s defense came to play, the Offense was diming away. Trying to involve Jusuf Nurkic was not working. The offense seems to be paused with empty possessions. However, the story changed when George received his fourth foul and was benched.

Portland pressured the hosts with quick plays and passing. Nicolas Batum though would not turn away hitting a barrage of threes keeping the host alive. He finished with 22 points six rebounds and one assist.

When Offense was back on track, their defense sucked which gave a four-point lead to the host at the end of the third quarter. Jusuf Nurkic had a double-double but was not efficient with the ball.

The host started to run away even in George’s absence. Lillard was making most of the possessions when they fell down trailing 9 points. The offensive support which the visitor needed from McCollum and Powell in the fourth quarter particularly never came.

However, giving their full effort at both ends, they were within three points with 3:30 left on the clock. The host, however, turned it around in the next minute going up by 8 points with two minutes to go.

It was then just a formality to end the clock. The visitor tried hard but something was missing and it was the win. The host were hanging on a thread with Gorge having 5 fouls only one away from ejection.