The Portland Trail Blazers weren’t expected to beat the Los Angeles Clippers in their 2023-24 season opener on Wednesday night. They probably didn’t want to lose quite this decisively, though. The Clippers jumped on Portland early, worked wonders with their defense, and beat the Blazers in nearly every aspect of the game on their way to a 123-111 victory. Anfernee Simons had 18 points on 6-14 shooting in the loss. Malcolm Brogdon added 20 on 8-16 from the field, 3-5 from distance.
Here’s how the action went…the parts that mattered, anyway.
First Quarter
Portland’s quirks were on display as soon as this game started. They got the opening tip off of a Clippers miscue, then promptly turned it over. On their next possession Scoot Henderson drove the lane, got stuck, and got his shot blocked. Then Deandre Ayton attempted a three-pointer, which he missed. Right after, Ayton got tagged with a foul. It was the whole smorgasbord of “What’s Wrong With the Blazers This Year” in the first two minutes of action.
The team also showed off some shiny aspects. They played aggressively on defense. When they didn’t break down, their “D” actually looked sharp. They attacked the bucket quickly and relentlessly. They forced a turnover or two.
But the Clippers played big brother to Portland’s little. They banged the Blazers on the drive, obliterated them on screens, and the physical play made a huge difference. Portland’s turnovers contributed mightily. They couldn’t hit enough shots to keep pace with the Clippers’ easy buckets, let alone all of them. By the 7:00 mark, L.A. led 13-4.
It only got worse after that. The Clippers started racing down the floor off of Portland misses. Portland’s transition defense fell apart. They missed a half-dozen threes and still couldn’t get past the Clippers’ packed interior defense. No offense and shaky “D” make Homer go crazy. In this case, it also led to a 29-20 Clippers lead after one.
Second Quarter
Surprisingly, Portland’s bench brought the team back. They kept up the aggressive defensive attack. Not having to do it against Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Russell Westbrook sure helped. But the Clips didn’t let that situation last long. Their returning starters ran and passed around the Portland defense. After getting narrowed briefly to six, the lead streaked back past double digits again.
The second period was a “best of times, worst of times” affair. Anfernee Simons went off, scoring at the rack off of twisting drives. Deandre Ayton picked up his third personal foul midway through, though. Paul George ended up scoring as many as Simons off of Portland’s permissive defense. And the three-pointers continued not falling…for Portland, that is. L.A. had relatively little trouble. That deficit at the arc, plus a total inability to score on the run, left Portland down 47-67 at the half.
Third Quarter
Anfernee Simons continued his individual brilliance as the third quarter progressed. He gave the Clippers fits. Three pointers from Los Angeles returned the favor and then some. Plus L.A. started winning the rebounding battle. When they also started outrunning Portland again, any hope of a meaningful comeback disappeared. The lead soared to 30 before coming back to 99-73, Los Angeles, at the conclusion of the third.
Fourth Quarter
Toumani Camara had a nice stretch in the fourth in which he attacked the basket, passed, and made at least a small nuisance of himself on defense. Head Coach Chauncey Billups experimented with different lineup combinations. The ones with Malcolm Brogdon in them actually looked semi-decent. But nothing was going to change the outcome of the contest at this point. It was a fun mix-and-match exercise for a team that, honestly, was experimenting from the opening tip.
Up Next
Stay tuned for extended analysis of this game coming soon!
The Blazers will welcome the Orlando Magic for their home opener at 7:00 PM at the Moda Center on Friday night.