For the second consecutive recreation, Portland Path Blazers guard Scoot Henderson shot properly early, whereas fellow guard Anfernee Simons struggled to place the ball into the basket.
And for the second consecutive recreation, the Blazers had been blown out, this time 118-89 to the LA Clippers on the Moda Heart.
Simons, 0 of 9 from the sector, went scoreless for the primary time since Dec. 2, 2021, when he performed slightly below 11 minutes in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
On Tuesday night time, Simons went scoreless on 5 pictures within the first half throughout a 132-114 loss to the Brooklyn Nets earlier than ending with 11 factors.
Blazers coach Chauncey Billups was at a loss to clarify Simons’ off night time past the apparent.
”It simply appeared like a tough night time,” Billups mentioned. “They do have a extremely good protection. They key on him loads. I didn’t assume they had been overly aggressive on him tonight. Their protection, they make you are taking loads of powerful pictures. And he may by no means actually get away from them … It was only a tough night time on the offense, which all gamers have them.”
Henderson, who scored a career-high 39 factors towards the Nets, had 14 factors within the first half towards the Clippers however added simply two within the second half. He completed with 16 on 6-of-14 taking pictures with six assists.
That’s about the one attention-grabbing tidbits from this recreation that started poorly for the Blazers and have become more and more worse because the night time went on.
The Clippers shot 66.7% within the first quarter to construct a 32-22 lead over the Blazers, who shot 37%. That lead grew to 21 factors within the second quarter. However the Clippers’ scoring slowed sufficient for the Blazers to get to inside 52-38 at halftime.
The Clippers acquired scorching once more within the third quarter, going up by as a lot as 32 whereas taking pictures 61.9% from the sector.
The Blazers closed the third quarter properly sufficient to path 86-66 coming into the ultimate quarter, the place they fell behind by 34 and that was just about that.
James Harden #1 of the LA Clippers shoots previous Kris Murray #24 of the Portland Path Blazers throughout the first half at Moda Heart on January 16, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. (Picture by Steph Chambers/Getty Pictures)Getty Pictures
James Harden led the Clippers with 19 factors, 12 within the first quarter. Former Blazers guard/ahead Norman Powell scored 23 factors. Former Portland ahead Derrick Jones Jr. added 13.
The Clippers shot 56.6 from the sector and 45.5% from past the arc.
The Blazers clicked on simply 37.4% of their area aim makes an attempt and shot 26.5% from three-point vary, ninth worst efficiency this season.
Dalano Banton led the Blazers with 23 factors, 21 coming within the second half. Shaedon Sharpe scored 12 factors and Deandre Ayton had 14 factors and 7 rebounds.
WHAT IT MEANS
The Blazers (13-27) misplaced their fourth consecutive recreation. The Clippers (23-17) claimed the season sequence 2-1.
CLINGAN AND AVDIJA OUT
Rookie heart Donovan Clingan (proper ankle sprain) shall be re-evaluated in per week. Deni Avdija (proper ankle sprain) missed his second recreation. Robert Williams III returned and scored 4 factors with seven rebounds in 17 minutes.
NEXT UP
The Blazers play back-to-back video games this weekend. At 7 p.m. on Saturday, they host the Houston Rockets (27-12). At 6 p.m., Sunday, the Blazers host the Chicago Bulls (18-23).
— Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Fb)
